As part of an industry-wide focus on building the next generation of leaders, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan sang the praises of the PMA Emerging Leaders Program. The program wrapped up last week, and Deputy Secretary Merrigan spoke about the program yesterday.The Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) is a partnership between the PMA Foundation for Industry Talent and the Thunderbird School of Global Management. The program culminates with a three-day session at the Thunderbird campus in Glendale, Arizona. Emerging leaders are typically between 25 and 35 years of age, and according to PMA President, Brian Silbermann, participants are recruited to develop and retain new industry talent.
"The ELP program is designed to attract, develop and retain the best and the brightest," he said. "Emerging leaders are able to hone cross-functional skills with real-world simulations." They're also exposed to the expanding nature of the produce industry which, Silbermann noted, now includes areas as diverse as food safety, marketing, finance and information technology.
Deputy Secretary Merrigan spoke about the program and how it serves to show the many opportunities available in the produce industry.
"In October of 2008, 50 percent of USDA employees were eligible for retirement," she said. That figure highlights the generational gap in the produce industry, and Merrigan said it shows the need to recruit young people.
"We need young people to think of agriculture as an exciting career path," she said. To that end, she's undertaken a national tour of colleges touting the many opportunities in the agricultural sector, and she believes the ELP fits well with her efforts.
"With many farmers in their fifties and sixties," she noted, "we're facing a major transition in this country."
The good news is, according to Silbermann, that current efforts to recruit new talent have been successful.
"The list of people wanting to get into the ELP program is greater than the space we have," he said, "and that's a good thing."