(L-R) are Jason Daly, vice president, sales, marketing, aftermarket and customer success, John Deere; Louann Hausner, global manager of marketing communications, John Deere Construction & Forestry Division; Brian McGuire, president and CEO of AED; Robert Henderson, executive vice president and COO of AED; and Dan Fitzpatrick, director of production systems, technology and marketing, John Deere.

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, more than one-third of John Deere Construction & Forestry 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.

"At John Deere, we have always believed that supporting the next generation of industry professionals through hands-on training and resource development can create an even stronger and smarter industry for the future," said Dan Fitzpatrick, director, production systems, technology and marketing, John Deere.

"That's why we are thrilled to celebrate our relationship with the AED Foundation and its impactful support of the industry through their efforts to champion workforce development."

John Deere is fully committed to supporting the future workforce entering the industry. Beyond its support of the AEDF, John Deere has provided technician development programs through its network of dealerships for more than 30 years, helping to shape the next generation of John Deere technicians across the United States and Canada.

For more information, visit www.deere.com.

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