HOW WILL HIRING AN AG STUDENT BENEFIT MY BUSINESS?
Students have background knowledge in agriculture.
You can work directly with the students’ teachers to work on skills or to solve any problems.
Students have a vested interest in the area and are more likely to be a long-term employee since SAE is a requirement of all agriculture students.
You know you are helping a student develop skills they will use for a lifetime.
Students enrolled in the agriculture program are eligible to work at many jobs under the age of 16 with the appropriate paperwork, meaning that your training investment is worth more in the long-term.
The employer is in no way responsible for having to provide all 200 hours for a student. We request that the employer be up front with the student if they will not have 200 hours worth of work, so that the student can make additional arrangements to supplement their hours. If you feel that the student is not benefiting your business, you are allowed to terminate their employment just like any other person.
WHAT CAN I EXPECT WHEN I HAVE AN AG STUDENT WORKING FOR ME?
You can contact our SAE Coordinator to advertise your job posting to our students if you would like
Agriculture students will have paperwork that needs to be completed by the student, and signed by a parent and employer. This is an outline of what the student will be doing and learning at their SAE, and it is an agreement between the three parties to support student growth.
The SAE Coordinator will provide the SAE employer with the contact information for the employee’s Supervising SAE teacher
Each student is visited at least once (usually over the summer) by their SAE teacher. The teacher will evaluate the student’s progress, take photos, and fill out an evaluation form. The employer or a work mentor should be available to discuss student progress. The student is in charge of scheduling the visit around the teacher and employer’s schedule.
The employer will need to provide periodic updates during the year when requested in regards to the student’s progress and number of hours worked. The employer must keep a record of hours worked by each student so that the SAE teacher can validate student records.
The employer is encouraged to bring any information forward to the teacher or SAE coordinator in terms of successes, or areas that require growth, so that these can be addressed in school in order to help.
SAE BASIC RULES
The SAE program is overseen by the Connecticut State Department of Education and the Connecticut State Department of Labor. These entities determine what jobs students may have at certain ages, and what jobs qualify as agriculture-specific and agriculture-related. SAE’s must fall in one of those two categories (i.e. no automotive, residential construction electrical or plumbing, etc.). There is a published resource, the Supervised Agriculture Experience Placement Manual, linked at the bottom of this page, where you can find exact information on all agricultural jobs.
All students must have a Student Work-Based Learning Plan on file for the current school year (valid from June 1-September 31 each year) before beginning any SAE. They may have an additional page to that form in some situations as described below. SAE Paperwork does not replace working papers. Working papers are obtained at the guidance office at the school.
LED 75-1- Waiver required for a student age 16-17 who is working at a jobsite that has hazards such as food production, operating any type of driven or bladed equipment (including tractors and mowers), and other specific jobs. Students may not do these jobs under the age of 16, no exceptions. Students may work for a landscaper under the age of 16 but are only allowed to do physical hand labor, or jobs that use a string trimmer or backpack blower. Jobs that require a LED 75-1 include but are not limited to:
Welding, agricultural construction, agricultural masonry, landscaping, agricultural mechanic, food processing, farrier, agricultural product processing, taxidermy, maple production, logging, excavation work, boat operation and fisherman.
LED 31-23- Waiver that allows students to work at an agricultural job under the age of 16 due to their enrollment in the agriculture program. These students are not allowed to operate any type of machinery that is driven or bladed, including tractors, mowers, welders, vehicles, power tools, and chainsaws.
Unpaid Experiential Learning Program (UELP)- Allows students to volunteer at a nonhazardous business where they would normally have to be paid. Students must fill out additional paperwork, be safety trained and pass a safety assessment, and they may only work a combined total of 120 hours per SAE year through the UELP program.
Students may work on a production agriculture farm (i.e. nursery grower, animal breeding and sales, etc.) without waivers. Students age 14 and 15 must be closely supervised in the practicing of hazardous occupations including operating machinery, and this may not exceed 20% of total work hours.
Students may only volunteer unpaid if the worksite is a document not-for-profit organization/agency that meets the strict approval of the State Department of Education and the Department of Labor.
Jobs must be agriculture specific or agriculture related according to the SAE placement manual in order to count as an SAE
All other regular Department of Labor regulations must be followed by the employer, including curfews, daily and weekly hour working limits, providing adequate job training and supervision, sexual harassment training, etc.
Students are allowed to work at nonhazardous jobsites under the age of 16 as long as they have signed and submitted the LED 31-23 form from the state.
Students may work at an agricultural production farm under the age of 16 without an LED 31-23, and there are no restrictions on the type of labor they can do, except they may only drive a tractor for up to 20% of their paid time.
Links to state resources are below:
Contact Harold Mackin, the State CTE Director
For further information about Labor Laws please follow the links below: