The Rural Voice, 1987-11, Page 28CENTRALIA COLLEGE
by Wayne Kelly
Two months into its 21st
year of operation, Centralia
College of Agricultural
Technology is having a close
look at its mandate and
purpose in meeting the needs
of the southwestern Ontario
farm community.
Bill Allen, new as college
principal this year, says the
time has come to review the
Agricultural Business Man-
agement (ABM) program
with a view to providing
graduates with practical and
THE 21st YEAR
Carts; & a Cottage
Agricultural Tcchttotagr
ta.**tola
y�.
timely instruction that will meet the
needs of today's agricultural realities.
"We need to have a hard look at
where our graduates are going and
whether our courses are truly meeting
the needs of agribusiness employers,"
Allen says, while stressing that such
an assessment doesn't necessarily
mean wholesale changes to the
existing programs.
"There are presently more jobs
available than we have graduates to
fill them," Allen adds. "This past
summer we had numerous calls from
the business sector and area farmers
requesting graduate assistance."
"When we talk about agriculture as
Harry Kostamp in residence.
a career, though, there seems to be a
misconception out there that there is
no future in agriculture. The number
one complaint has been that on-farm
compensation has not been attractive,
but we are finding that many large-
scale operations are now willing to
pay very respectable salaries to the
qualified young person."
Enrolment at Centralia this year
reached 211, with the ABM program
drawing 65, Animal Health Technol-
ogy 62, and Food Service Manage-
ment 84.
One of the 37 first-year students in
the ABM program is Sebringville area
resident, Henry Koskamp. With a
family dairy farm awaiting, Koskamp
takes seriously his opportunity to
acquire skills that will contribute to a
positive management approach to the
family operation when he returns.
"When my older brother enrolled
here two years ago, I quit high school
to help out around home, but now that
he has come back to the farm, it's my
turn," Koskamp says, adding that his
status as a "mature student" allowed
him to meet enrolment requirements.
"I don't think you need a diploma
to be successful in farming these
days," he says, "but I do think that the
more I can learn about the cow and the
management of our type of farm, the
better chance I'll have of making a go
of it in this business."
Koskamp does note, however, that
the objectives of some of his fellow
first-year students differ. "I think
most people are here so that
they can get a better job off
the farm, something that
pays decent money."
Traditional figures, says
Bill Allen, show that more
than two-thirds of ABM
grads return to the farm
eventually. "It's our aim
to have a positive outlook,
even though we are dealing
with an industry that many
have viewed pessimistically.
There is no question that
there is a career in
agriculture."
"CCAT can do more for agricul-
ture than it is at present. We can be
more responsive to what the agricul-
tural community is looking for," Allen
says.
"In the long term, I see agricul-
ture becoming a much more stable
occupation. Our goal is to establish
programs over the next five years that
will achieve results that will be
beneficial to the farm community."
Centralia College will hold its
annual open house Wesnesday,
November 4. Student competitions,
demonstrations, exhibits, and wagon
tours of the campus will start at 12
noon.0
CCAT principal Bill Allen.
26 THE RURAL VOICE