Acknowledging and supporting the many challenges facing the industry, John Deere Construction & Forestry has made a donation of $300,000 to the AED Foundation (AEDF), helping to shape the next generation of construction professionals.
John Deere is actively involved in helping the 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 dealerships in the United States and Canada have contributed to the AEDF, further supporting its mission to expand industry-specific professional education and workforce development. John Deere also continues to collaborate with the AEDF to align on John Deere and AED certification programs.
The AEDF is a critical non-profit foundation supporting the heavy equipment industry, which helps actively address the skilled labor shortage through community-based industry and position-specific professional education programs. By working with equipment dealers, manufacturers, and industry educators, the AEDF is working toward its goal of growing the talent pool of skilled technicians for the heavy equipment industry.