Central Minnesota Jobs and Training Services was awarded a $245,000 grant to support the launch of its Growing Careers in Agriculture program. The workforce initiative serves residents across 11 counties, including Wright, McLeod, and Meeker counties, by offering free training and career support for agricultural employment.
A new state-funded workforce initiative aims to connect residents in Wright, McLeod, and Meeker counties with careers in agriculture through free training and career support.
Central Minnesota Jobs and Training Services (CMJTS) recently launched its Growing Careers in Agriculture program after receiving a $254,000 competitive grant from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
The program is designed to help unemployed, underemployed, or displaced workers pursue careers in agricultural fields while also addressing workforce shortages facing rural employers.
“This program is about creating opportunity,” Joe Sharpe, adult workforce program manager for CMJTS, said. “We’re helping individuals look for stable, high-demand careers in agriculture while also connecting businesses and farms with skilled workers.”
The nonprofit organization oversees the CareerForce system across 11 central Minnesota counties and has partnered with the state for 40 years to provide employment and workforce development services.
CMJTS partners with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) to connect job seekers with employers throughout the region. Services provided through the organization are free to participants.
According to Sharpe, the Growing Careers in Agriculture initiative was funded through DEED’s Adult Career Pathways program, which awards competitive grants to organizations across Minnesota during two-year grant cycles.
“We thought this would be another way for us to help leverage the communities that we serve,” Sharpe said. “We were awarded the program at the end of last year, and it officially kicked off in the last month or so.”
The agriculture grant is the organization’s first program specifically focused on agricultural career pathways. The $254,000 grant, awarded to CMJTS at the end of 2025, will support the program through June 30, 2027, though Sharpe encouraged interested residents to apply as soon as possible.
Participants must be Minnesota residents, at least 18 years old, and authorized to work in the United States. Priority populations may include veterans, older workers, women, and individuals with disabilities.
Training opportunities available through the grant include veterinary technology, CDL training, welding, meat cutting, agronomy technology, precision agriculture certification, dairy and poultry management, and agricultural equipment mechanics, among others.
Sharpe said the program is intended to do more than simply help participants pay for training.
“One of the things to understand about these programs is that it’s more than just getting access to funds to go to school,” Sharpe said. “It’s about providing hands-on career navigation and helping people understand different careers, labor market information, wages, and what kind of future they can build in agriculture.”
Kim Kieser, a career navigator for the program who lives on a second-generation farm near Winsted with her husband, Jason, where they raise corn and soybeans, will work directly with participants throughout the process to help prepare them for long-term success in the agricultural workforce.
Kieser said the grant could also help open doors for people who may not come from farming backgrounds and create pathways into an industry that may have previously seemed unattainable.
“You don’t have to be the son or daughter of a farmer to be part of the ag industry,” she said. “There are so many opportunities connected to agriculture that people may not realize exist.”
“As agriculture continues to evolve, it can sometimes feel unattainable or out of reach for people who aren’t directly connected to a family farm. That’s why it’s exciting to see the wide variety of opportunities available in the industry,” Kieser added.
According to Kieser, agriculture can provide strong career options for people who prefer hands-on work outside a traditional office setting.
“Not everybody wants to work inside four walls,” she said. “Agriculture gives people the opportunity to build successful careers in a lot of different ways.”
Scan the QR code to complete the Growing Careers in Agriculture program interest form and connect with Kim Kieser for career support.
The program supports a wide variety of agricultural skill sets, from operating equipment to technical, scientific, and business-related fields, with training options ranging from short-term certifications to associate degree programs designed to meet people at different experience and education levels.
Sharpe noted that agriculture and related industries remain a major part of Minnesota’s economy, and employers throughout the region continue to face hiring challenges in several skilled trades and technical positions critical to keeping operations running smoothly.
“This is another opportunity for us to support a long-standing and stable economy in our rural communities,” Sharpe said.
“Anything we can do to support Minnesota’s economy is important, but agriculture and the continued growth of the industry are something we want to be a part of,” he added. “Because we live and work in these communities, we have the ability to help change people’s lives and strengthen the communities we serve.”
More information about the program is available through the website at www.cmjts.org/job-seekers/adult-programs/. Individuals interested in exploring agricultural career options can contact Kieser through the website or use the program’s QR code to complete an interest form. Kieser said she personally follows up with everyone who submits their contact information through the form.
