By Gregg Wartgow, Special to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) --
The non-road equipment technician shortage is real.
However, to the work of organizations like CASE 4 Learning, in partnership with local equipment dealers and associations like AEM, there is a real chance at shrinking that shortage.
Every year, an estimated 12,000-plus students take CASE courses specifically geared toward equipment: Agriculture Power & Technology, Ag Equipment Maintenance & Technology, Small Gas Engines, CASE Safety Module.
The primary objective is to help middle and high school students build the technical skills needed to propel them toward a career as an equipment technician, such as service and diagnostic procedures, reading schematics, creating reports and work orders, safety procedures, and general employability skills.
“This is our area of focus that has been strongly supported by AEM,” said Carl Aakre, director of CASE 4 Learning.
CASE 4 Learning uses an inquiry-based method that stresses curiosity and collaboration over classroom lecture. It seems to be working. Many teachers who utilize CASE courses have had students compete in various technical skills competitions. Those students often do very well. The latest example was the Western Farm Show in Kansas City, Missouri, back in February.
“Something like 96 students competed there,” Aakre said. “The top students were from programs that utilize the CASE curriculum. That shows the fruits of our labor. Students have the ability to complete those challenges and compete very successfully at a high level.”
CASE 4 Learning, which stands for Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education, is an initiative of the National Council for Agricultural Education. Despite the emphasis on agriculture, it’s important to note that construction equipment hasn’t been neglected.
“When we partnered with AED (Associated Equipment Distributors), we cross-walked the CASE 4 Learning curriculum with AED’s curriculum on the construction side,” said Julie Davis, AEM senior vice president of people strategy. “So, this is not just about agriculture. The curriculum cross-walks to the construction side as well.”
A wealth of strategies exist to help attract and retain the workforce of tomorrow, and AEM is here to help bring them to light through its Workforce Development Committee. Learn more.
Helping Teachers Prepare Students
Students can’t participate in CASE courses unless teachers incorporate them into their classrooms. To do that, teachers must be CASE-certified. This is where sponsorships from organizations like AEM have played an important role.
According to Aakre, more than 633 teachers have received training and become certified in the coursework AEM helps support, thanks in large part to roughly 233 scholarships that have been awarded over the years. Additionally, in-kind support such as curriculum development and review is of great value to teachers.
It’s also essential to help teachers establish industry connections, namely with local equipment dealers. This is another area where AEM and its members have been playing an important role.
“Those connections have led to dealers sponsoring teachers for materials, as well as providing different types of equipment we have on our wish list,” Aakre said.
Local dealers have also played an important role in helping teachers develop their own knowledge by supporting various CASE professional development activities.
“One nice thing about our development programs is that some teachers in technical education never get to experience working with up-to-date technology,” Aakre said. “We work with dealers, through connections made through AEM, to make sure teachers are able to operate and work with new equipment. Teachers get to see how something like precision agriculture actually works.”
As Aakre pointed out, inquiry-based learning is most effective when a teacher can incorporate their own experiences into their lesson plans.
“We do a lot of planning ahead of a dealership field trip,” Aakre said. “Maybe we want to provide some education on the diagnostic process. We’ll touch base with a dealership technician beforehand to make sure they’ll be around when we visit. Then they can observe how the teachers follow the diagnostic process, fill out a work order, etc., like any dealership technician would. Then the teachers know how to go back to their schools and create the same type of experience for their students.”
Staying on Top of Automation
Established in 2009, CASE 4 Learning continues to evolve its offerings to meet the needs of a constantly evolving industry.
Case in point, the Agricultural Robotics and Automation Technologies (ARAT) project is a new initiative that emerged from discussions amongst the CASE 4 Learning Committee, which includes AEM members. This 2024-2027 project is designed to introduce students to automation concepts in animal, plant, and food applications. It also includes a three-day professional development component for teachers.
“We prepared 32 teachers last year,” Aakre said. “We’ll do another 20 this year, and another 20 the year after that. We’ll be well over our 64-teacher goal. And the nice thing is, ARAT is being provided at no cost to teachers. We’re also giving them a startup kit with materials so they can get started with teaching these concepts.”
ARAT is made possible by a three-year National Science Foundation (NSF) project grant led by a partnership between CASE, AgCentric, Minnesota state colleges, and industry partners including AEM, CNH Industrial, and CLAAS.
The CASE 4 Learning Committee has now recognized the need to integrate an AI component into the project. “We’ve applied for a supplemental grant so we can add an AI supplemental lesson to this curriculum,” Aakre said.
Certifications as the Next Step for Students
CASE 4 Learning has partnered with The Agricultural Experience Tracker to deliver CASE student assessments, along with The National Occupational Competency Testing Institute to deliver end-of-course assessments and credentialing. The next logical step is certification.
“We’re in the process of developing an NSF-ATE Agricultural Center that can identify those certifications that have industry meaning, and how we can work more closely with industry to do that,” Aakre said.
Additionally, CASE 4 Learning has been working with CNH and its Top Tech program for the post-secondary level. Aakre said CNH expressed a desire to connect with students at a younger age.
“After reviewing our curriculum, they said it was exactly what they were looking for to introduce students to their Top Tech program,” Aakre said.
High school students who complete CASE 4 Learning’s Ag Equipment Maintenance & Technology course can receive up to four certifications through CNH’s online web academy, according to Aakre. Those four certifications are hydraulics, powertrains, electrical, and precision agriculture.
“This approach is something we’d like to continue to explore because we know there are other corporations and programs out there are similar,” Aakre said.
Building Awareness
While 12,000-plus students per year is an impressive number, industry stakeholders would naturally like to see that number continue to grow. Aakre would too, and getting more teachers on board largely comes down to awareness.
“We all need to make sure our local teachers realize there is a true workforce demand when it comes to equipment repair, and that these are high-paying jobs for people with a two-year degree,” Aakre said.
It’s equally important to make sure equipment dealers are aware that the CASE programming is available. “Dealers can help with outreach to their local schools to further build awareness and get more teachers interested,” Davis said.
To close the equipment technician shortage, all stakeholders must work together. That’s exactly what has been happening with CASE 4 Learning, and it’s precisely why the initiative has been so successful. By continuing to work together to broaden awareness and support the program, the best years could very well lie ahead.
Want to invest in your team, expand your network, and keep workforce issues at the top of your agenda? Visit AEM’s Workforce Solutions page or email Senior Vice President of People Strategy Julie Davis at jdavis@aem.org.
