Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) announced that 20 remote work learning scholarships are being provided across nine agriculture organizations in partnership with the Purdue Center for Regional Development (PCRD). Scholarships fully cover the cost for participants to complete PCRD’s Remote Work Certificate Program.
“I am excited to announce these opportunities for rural Hoosiers to develop critical skills,†Crouch said. “This comes at a great time as Indiana further invests in expanding broadband infrastructure.â€
In 2020, the Lt. Governor’s family of business agencies announced the Rural Road to Recovery (RRR) initiative which resulted in the creation of blueprints for supporting Indiana’s small cities and towns in the wake of COVID-19. Under RRR, ISDA prioritized increasing access and deployment of broadband services needed to support on-farm and farm household activities, with a particular focus on enhancing online remote workforce training opportunities for farm households seeking off-farm income options.
“Our goal here is to further support Indiana’s rural agricultural communities in the wake of COVID-19,” said ISDA Director Bruce Kettler. “As part of supporting our farm families and industry culture, we have new and creative possibilities to enable off-farm income and to close those skill gaps more quickly.”
The below agriculture groups have teamed up with ISDA to allocate the 20 scholarships across Indiana. Each group received at least one scholarship to provide to awardees they selected:
- Agribusiness Council of Indiana
- American Dairy Association of Indiana
- Indiana Beef Cattleman Association
- Indiana Corn Marketing Council
- Indiana Farm Bureau
- Indiana Grown
- Indiana Pork Producers
- Indiana Soybean Alliance
- Indiana State Poultry Association
“Since 2005 remote work has grown by 173%,†said Roberto Gallardo, Director of the Purdue Center for Regional Development. “Thirty percent of U.S. jobs could be done from home full time, and we are excited about this certificate program and the opportunities it gives to Indiana residents.â€
Scholarship awardees will be trained via cohorts on project management, critical thinking, problem solving, time management, collaboration and professional organization. The certificate program has 9 modules totaling 30 hours of expected work. Upon completing the program, participants earn a dual certificate through Purdue University Extension and Utah State University. In addition, participants receive career coaching and are added to a large and growing networking community of program alumni.
