Gooseneck is proud to announce that seven students from our John Deere Tech Program at North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton have graduated. This program allows students to combine on-campus learning with paid, on-the-job training at a Gooseneck location to earn an associate degree after two years. Sponsorship by one of Gooseneck’s 13 locations is required of each student at the beginning of the program, and upon completion, they are hired as full-time employees.
We are grateful to have had the opportunity to meet these graduates and celebrate their achievements at Gooseneck Headquarters in Minot last week. This program is vastly important to the success of our service department, and our company as a whole, so we truly value the opinions of our graduates on their experience, and ways we could improve to better prepare for the future classes.
When asked why they decided to enroll in this program, graduates agreed that they felt very motivated to find a way to give back to the local farmers and ranchers and be capable of helping them ensure they can keep their operation running, and that this program was a perfect opportunity to do just that.
Being able to combine hands-on learning with the full on-campus college experience allows these students the best of both worlds. Over the course of two years, many memories were made, many lifelong friendships were built, and this is what most graduates regarded as their favorite part of the program.
Since these students do turn into full-time employees of Gooseneck, it is extremely imperative to us that they are getting the very most out of the program to best equip them for the work force. While the classroom work is very important, what really takes these students to the next level is the internships that give them the full picture of what their job will be like, what they need to know, who they are going to work with, and how to do what they need to do. This allows them an opportunity to get the full picture of what life is like as a technician at Gooseneck, which is a luxury that most professionals do not get to experience.
“The internships were able to teach me the most because I was able to be taught twice as much while working with some [technicians] that have been there longer and helped show us tips and tricks that we wouldn’t have been able to learn in the classroom”
-Jade Waters, Technician Graduate
Congratulations to all the NDSCS John Deere Tech students on all of your hard work and dedication. We wish you all the best of luck with your careers and we are glad to have you as part of the Gooseneck family.
Find out more about our JDTech Program at NDSCS here.
