At the Oklahoma Youth Expo, Farm Director KC Sheperd had the chance to visit with Scott Eisenhauer of P&K Equipment, who has been a major booster of the OYE’s Ag Mechanics contest. This Saturday, the fourth Ag Mechanics Contest will move into a larger venue on the OKC Fairgrounds(The Pavilion) and there are a record 318 entries for this year- up from 239 in 2023.
Eisenhauer said it is impressive to see the mechanical skills and abilities that the students in the contest are able to showcase.
“Young people with technical and mechanical skills are what we need to work in our dealerships,” Eisenhauer said. “It was a logical fit for us from the beginning that some of the students that will be having projects there might be potential candidates for our employees and our training programs and all those types of things. P&K is glad to be a partner from the beginning of the ag mechanics contest.”
Sheperd and Eisenhauer also talked about the two-year college internship program offered by P&K in cooperation with Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology), Fort Scott Community College, and Garden City Community College.
The internship program leads to an Associated Degree in Applied Science. In addition to the two-year program, Fort Scott Community College also offers a one-year John Deere Certification Program.
Eisenhauer also talked about scholarship opportunities for students looking to enroll in the internship program. P&K Equipment offers upcoming technicians with essential resources for success including a $10,000 P&K scholarship, a $1,000 tool allowance, and a company laptop with John Deere diagnostic software.
While completing the two-year program option, P&K service technicians will learn through a balanced rotation of classroom theory and hands-on application. Time will be split between on-campus learning and real-world application at the dealership. Upon completion of the two-year program, P&K technicians will receive an Associate Degree in Applied Science through one of our partner schools.
Regarding the one-year John Deere-certified training program only offered at Fort Scott Community College, the program uses a traditional on-campus learning structure, providing students with troubleshooting knowledge, and hands-on experience in the areas of service, repair, and rebuilding John Deere equipment. Through this 12-month fast-track option, students will become a John Deere Certified Technician.
As a graduate of the Service Technician Training Program, students can expect to be skilled, technically trained, valuable members of the P&K Equipment family.
“They can come right out of our programs and have an associate’s degree, come back, they don’t have any debt usually, and have a guaranteed job that is a long-term career,” Eisenhauer said.
Click here for the full schedule for the 2024 OYE. The Oklahoma Farm Report team will be snapping pictures from start to finish- and you can see them as we add them to our Flickr album for 2024- available here. If you want to look back to the 2023 OYE- click here for our pictures from last year’s event.
Our coverage of the 2024 Oklahoma Youth Expo is sponsored by Hilliary Communications. More than 60 years ago, the Hilliary Family acquired a small telephone company in rural southwest Oklahoma. Now in its third generation, the company has grown from a single exchange with just 100 access lines covering 22 square miles to now serving more than 19,000 customers in 22 counties throughout Oklahoma & Texas. The company also offers IP television service and internet speeds up to 1 Gig. Click here to learn more about Hilliary Communications.
