Targeting Transitional Clients

Providing educational help to people displaced from agriculture is a major concern of Extension educators. Some essential questions need to be answered before designing educational programs for this special transitional target audience. What knowledge and skills do displaced workers desire? Are displaced agricultural workers willing to enroll in classes to attain needed knowledge and skills? If seeking work, what types of employment are displaced workers considering? What knowledge and skills do employers want in their workers? It isn't enough to be concerned about clients in transition. We need good data on these clients to plan effective Extension programs.

Agricultural employment in the United States declined 80% between 1940 and 1980. Most of this decline was due to technological change.1 In Mississippi, displacement from agricultural employment continues. Much of this displacement is due to a drop in the number of Mississippi farms. Between 1985 and 1987, the number of farms in Mississippi decreased by 6.25%.2

While many displaced workers get new work relatively quickly, a sizable number are jobless a year or longer.3 Some have turned to entrepreneurship, while others have accepted low-paying, non-benefit jobs.

Underemployment may be reduced and earnings of persons with low incomes can be raised by human resource development programs of education, training, and job search help.4 But these programs must meet client interests and needs to be effective. To determine those interests and needs, we surveyed displaced agricultural workers.

A proportionate random sample of 41 counties, 10 each from three Mississippi Cooperative Extension Districts and 11 from the remaining district, were chosen for the study. The county agricultural agent in each of the 41 counties was asked to list names, addresses, and telephone numbers of displaced agricultural workers who agreed to participate in the study, and employers who were hiring or expected to be hiring in the near future.

Twenty-eight agents identified 55 displaced agricultural workers and 29 prospective employers, who were mailed parallel forms of a questionnaire that was a modification of the one used by Buriak, Whitacre, and O'Rourke.5 Final response rates of 62% and 70% were obtained for displaced workers and employers, respectively. Telephone calls were made to a random sample of nonrespondents from both groups. Data obtained weren't different from those of the respondents and were included in the final analysis.

Displaced workers were given areas of study and asked to indicate the ones they believed necessary to obtain the type of employment they wanted. Employers were given the same areas and asked to indicate the ones they believed necessary for their current and potential employees. Both rated the areas on a 1 to 4 scale with 1 being definitely not necessary and 4 being definitely necessary.

Table 1 shows the means and rankings assigned to the areas of study by both groups. Both groups rated personal development (problem solving and decision making) first and technical training second. The areas of small business management and sales training were rated third and fourth by displaced workers, while employers rated arithmetic third and speech fourth.

A willingness to enroll in a class or classes to obtain skills for employment was indicated by 58% of the displaced workers. Most of the remainder weren't sure if they'd enroll.

Table 2 indicates the mean ratings of types of employment displaced workers would consider. Employment in agricultural business was rated highest and employment for an agricultural producer was rated lowest.

Formal education beyond high school didn't appear to be a requirement for employment in the types of businesses and companies in this study. Fifty-five percent of the employers reported that they did contribute to the educational expenses of their employees and many of them, 60%, conducted formal in-house educational and training programs for their workers. Employers also projected that their work force would increase by 21% between 1987 and 1990.

Both displaced agricultural workers and employers in Mississippi believed that education designed to enhance personal development in the areas of problem solving and decision making and technical skills were most necessary for obtaining employment. Most of the displaced workers in the study were willing to take classes to get this education. When designing adult and continuing education courses, agricultural and Extension educators should include experiences that will enhance problem-solving and decision-making skills. When planning courses specifically for displaced agricultural workers, agriculture subject matter in areas other than production is a must with courses in agribusiness and related areas preferred. Learning activities to enhance math, speech, and writing skills should be incorporated into such courses. Study in most business and related areas will, by nature, contain math and writing.

While the primary aim of many adult education programs in agriculture may be to increase technical competency in specific areas of production, subject matter and learning experiences within the programs need to enhance problem-solving and decision-making skills of enrollees. The displaced agricultural workers in Mississippi indicated that if they had had these skills at the time of displacement, their chances of finding new employment would be greater.

This study identified the education and training perceived necessary by displaced agricultural workers in Mississippi to gain employment in desired occupations. Prospective employers were also surveyed in an effort to identify the skills they want in their employees. It was found that educational efforts to help displaced agricultural workers acquire new employment should teach problem-solving and decision-making skills as well as technical skills.

1. M. Tienda, "Industrial Restructuring in Metropolitan Labor Markets: Implications for Equity and Efficiency" (Symposium in Rural Labor Markets Research Issues, USDA, ERG, ARED Staff Report No. AGES 860721, September 1986), pp. 33-70.

2. Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce and the U.S., Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service, Mississippi Agricultural Statistics, 1985-1986, Supplement 21 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1986).

3. M. Podgursky and P. Swain, "Duration of Joblessness Following Displacement," Industrial Relations, XXVI (No. 3, 1987), 213-25.

4. L. Tweeten, "Rural Labor Market Performance" (Symposium in Rural Labor Markets Research Issues, USDA, ERG, ARED Staff Report No. AGES 860721, September 1986), pp. 33-70.

5. P. Buriak, R. Whitacre, and P. O'Rourke, "Demand for Part-Time or Full-Time Off-Farm Employment for Agricultural Producers and Their Spouses" (Staff study, Illinois State University, Normal, 1985).