CGTbyPMA to Host Immersion Academy for College Seniors

In an effort to inspire and prepare college students for careers in the fresh produce and floral industry, the Center for Growing Talent by PMA (CGTbyPMA) will host an Immersion Academy next month for 100 university seniors studying diverse majors. The course will take place Nov. 7-9 in Dallas.

The course’s “Rooted to Succeed” three-day agenda is designed to not only educate qualified college seniors on how to prepare for industry careers after graduation, but will help them draw parallels between their majors and career opportunities within the industry. The program will also connect students with industry leaders who can inspire, mentor and lead them towards their careers.

“Immersion Academy will prepare university seniors in high-demand majors for careers in our industry, so that they start those careers being ‘Rooted to Succeed’,” says Leonard Batti, CGTbyPMA board chairman and VP of business development at Taylor Farms. “That sets up both the new hire and their employer to succeed.”

Immersion Academy expands on CGTbyPMA’s Career Pathways student attraction programs. Created by Jay Pack and the Produce Marketing Association (PMA), the original Pack Family Career Pathways program brought the first group of top students to the Fresh Summit in 2004.

Career Pathways now consists of 10 programs held in the U.S. and around the world. To date, 67 percent of Career Pathways participants began careers in the fresh produce and floral industry industry after they graduated, and 78 percent remain in the industry today, according to company officials.

“For more than 10 years, CGTbyPMA has been delivering on our mission to help our industry attract, develop and retain talent,” says Alicia Calhoun, VP, talent portfolio at CGTbyPMA. “We are our industry’s most trusted, go-to source for talent management solutions.”

CGTbyPMA was created by the produce and floral industry to attract, develop and retain talent to feed the industry’s growth through educational programming and networking events. The organization offers a variety of industry-specific solutions across the career continuum for university students, young professionals, women, emerging leaders, mid-level individuals and senior executives.