In a move to strengthen workforce development in agriculture, the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) has partnered with the University of Guelph’s School of Continuing Studies (SCS) to deliver practical, industry-informed human resource (HR) training tailored specifically to farm and rural business operations.

Through this collaboration, the University’s new Certificate in People Management will include a tailored elective stream, HR for Agriculture and Rural Enterprises, co-developed with CAHRC to reflect the unique HR realities of farm operations and rural businesses.

This comprehensive program is designed for farm owners, managers, rural business operators, and team leaders who often manage teams without the support of dedicated human resource professionals. Learners will gain essential HR knowledge for their business through a flexible, online asynchronous format via the University of Guelph’s Brightspace platform.

“CAHRC brings a strong understanding of the agriculture industry and decades of experience in human resource management and labour market research to this partnership,” said Jennifer Wright, executive director of CAHRC. “By combining our close connection to primary producers and agri-businesses with the University of Guelph’s academic excellence and robust delivery infrastructure, we’re building a meaningful collaboration to deliver practical, high-quality HR training tailored to the needs of Canada’s agriculture sector.”

“We are thrilled to partner with the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) to develop innovative agricultural HR courses tailored specifically for agribusiness professionals,” says Dianne Tyers, AVP, School of Continuing Studies.

This certificate program complements CAHRC’s Ag HR Micro-credential Program, helping scale training delivery and increasing national reach. Agriculture-specific micro-credentials within the certificate will cover essential topics such as:

• Managing seasonal and temporary workers

• Navigating domestic and international labour laws

• Promoting safe, healthy farm workplaces
• Embracing cultural and language diversity in rural teams

Source: Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council June 5, 2025 news release