John Deere Construction & Forestry has donated $300,000 to the AED Foundation (AEDF). John Deere is involved in helping AED develop college accreditation standards and currently has five AED-accredited John Deere TECH programs in the United States. Those programs include Hinds Community College, Suny Cobleskill, Wake Technical Community College, Linn-Benton Community College, and North Dakota State College of Science.
In addition, over one-third of John Deere Construction & Forestry dealerships in the U.S. and Canada have contributed to the AEDF. John Deere also continues to collaborate with the AEDF to align on John Deere and AED certification programs.
The AEDF is a non-profit foundation supporting the heavy equipment industry, which helps actively address the labour shortage through community-based industry and position-specific professional education programs. By working with equipment dealers, manufacturers, and educators, the AEDF is working toward growing the talent pool of skilled technicians for the heavy equipment industry.
"At John Deere, we have always believed that supporting the next generation of industry professionals through hands-on training and resource development can create an even stronger and smarter industry for the future," said Dan Fitzpatrick, director of production systems, technology, and marketing at John Deere. "That's why we are thrilled to celebrate our relationship with the AED Foundation and its impactful support of the industry through their efforts to champion workforce development."
