An In-Depth Look at Our Partnership with USA Farm Labor and What it Means for You
It’s a natural partnership — USA Truck Labor and USA Farm Labor. Our two organizations have come together to train, verify, and help the next generation of South African H2A job seekers land seasonal positions and succeed in America.
To put it simply, USA Truck Labor trains you on new skills, plus verifies your skills and experience. USA Farm Labor gives you, our candidates, a top spot in their worker pool, along with an icon signaling to American employers that you’re trained and verified.
Come for training, stay for verification, and receive a top spot in the USA Farm Labor worker pool along with special designations that set you apart from the competition. It’s a win-win.
This blog digs into our partnership with USA Farm Labor, so you know exactly what to expect from your training efforts and understand how we go above and beyond to put you in the best position to succeed.
Origins of our partnership with USA Farm Labor
USA Farm Labor founder and CEO, Manuel Fick, is a native South African who immigrated to America with dreams of connecting his homeland with the Land of Opportunity. He recognized the need for skilled H2A workers early in his career.
“Our clients (American farmers needing seasonal labor) need more than just a ‘warm body’, simple laborer or picker — they need skilled workers to perform complex farm jobs like driving farm trucks and operating equipment like tractors. The problem was that our clients simply don’t have time to train a worker to perform these jobs; they need someone ready to hit the ground running,” Fick explains.
It’s not that farmers don’t require basic labor, such as fruit and vegetable pickers; they do. In fact, there are a lot of different types of farm jobs available on H2A visas. But, farmers also need seasonal workers to:
Drive trucks around the farm and to the grain elevators/bins
Operate expensive, complex farm equipment
Run and service tractors, combine harvesters, sprayers, and irrigation pivots
Connect and disconnect tractor attachments and tools
Perform regular service on attachments and equipment
Maintain farm buildings and grounds
Ag equipment operators and drivers need a diverse technical skill set, and that’s where USA Truck Labor comes in. Your training program is primarily designed to prepare you for driving American semi trucks in a farm environment and across the roads of America. We’ve found that many American farm employers want versatile workers who can do both: drive their trucks and operate their equipment.
Aside from needing skilled workers, American farmers place a high level of importance on safety. Fick also recognized the need for safe, trained workers when he noticed many H2A job seekers would claim to have skills and experience with equipment when, in reality, they did not. That’s a big liability, not just for H2A visa recruitment agencies and American farm employers, but also for the workers themselves.
“Farm work in America can be a dangerous game if you don’t know what you’re doing. That’s one of the goals of the training: to prevent catastrophic injuries or worse,” Fick furthers. “The last thing we want is a worker who doesn’t know what they’re doing getting behind the wheel of a farm semi or a huge combine. Bad things happen then. Safety and preparedness are a big reason for this partnership.”
How our partnership with USA Farm Labor benefits H2A job seekers
The training program is no good unless we help you get an H2A job after you’ve finished the program. That’s where our partnership with USA Farm Labor brings your H2A job-seeking experience full circle. Once you finish your training, you will receive:
A top listing in the USA Farm Labor database pool of available workers
A special icon next to your listing signaling to potential employers that you’re trained in driving American farm trucks
Another icon on your listing signaling you’ve verified your H2A skills and experience
A certificate of completion and drone footage of your practical training in the truck
Not only are you trained in driving American-style trucks, but you’re also marketed to American ag employers in the Farm Labor database. The USA Farm Labor database contains the profiles and resumes of thousands of farm work candidates from around the world, and your name goes to the top of the list with the other Truck Labor graduates, so your profile is front and center.
You also receive drone footage of your practical techniques to demonstrate your skills to potential employers, not just farmers for H2A jobs, but for other positions as well. Your footage of driving and maneuvering your training truck can help you land other types of jobs, other than farm jobs in America.
How our partnership benefits H2A employers in America
When American employers call USA Farm Labor looking for seasonal farmworkers, one of the first questions they ask is: “Can the workers do the job?”
The onboarding and sales team at USA Farm Labor confidently tells them, “Yes, we have a training partner!” and USA Truck Labor is that partner. Your training and verification program carries weight.
There are a lot of requirements that U.S. ag employers must meet before they can legally hire and employ you on an H2A visa contract. Since employers have to provide housing, transportation, and have an active Workers’ Comp policy in place, they expect you to have the skills needed to effectively and efficiently perform their jobs. Our training program provides American ag employers with:
Skilled employees who can safely and confidently perform their jobs
A simplified hiring process
Transparency regarding a candidate’s skills, abilities, and experience
Verified candidates
Employers simply want seasonal workers who can do the job without needing to spend days or weeks training and teaching you how to drive trucks or operate equipment. USA Farm Labor helps employers new to the H2A program every day, and the majority of those employers need skilled workers, but don’t have time to train.
Come for training, stay for verification, get marketed to H2A employers in the USA Farm Labor database
Our partnership with USA Farm Labor gives you even more potential to land the H2A job of your dreams. Come to us for your training and verification needs, and you’ll get a favorable listing with the top H2A agency in America for skilled South Africans.
