by Rhonda Massad
A contribution of $ 3,772,000 to be spread out over three years, was granted to Macdonald College by the Quebec government late last week. The funds will help finance the English version of the college training program for farm business management and technologies (WGTA), entitled Farm Management and Technology (FMT).
“Our government places its trust in a college affiliated with this prestigious institution, which is the only institution to serve Quebec’s English-speaking clientele for the GTEA-FMT program,” said Member of Parliament for Jacques-Cartier, Geoffrey Kelley. “It is also the only case where this college-level program is offered within a university. As a retired educator and member of Parliament for Jacques-Cartier, I am proud that we will be able to train a qualified English-speaking workforce.”
The funding of the WGF-FMT program will enable Québec’s English-speaking agricultural students to access training that is of strategic value for the competitiveness and productivity of Quebec agriculture.
The amount will be distributed as follows: $ 1,100,000 for the year 2016-2017, $ 1,280,000 for the year 2017-2018 and $ 1,392,000 for the year 2018-2019.
Enrollment in the program is growing, and the placement prospects are excellent.
“For more than 40 years, the Department and Macdonald College have been working together to ensure that Quebec’s English-speaking agricultural succession has access to this cutting-edge program in the best possible conditions,” Mr. Laurent Lessard, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food. “This financial injection supports this institution so that the positive results in recent years continue, notably regarding the quality of the training and the number of enrollments. For the Government, being able to rely on an available and competent workforce is a priority. “
