Pre-Apprenticeship Program

The pre-apprenticeship program is in partnership with Pasa Sustainable Agriculture for those who have little or no growing experience but are interested in exploring a farming career.  This is a two-year program, where participants will volunteer four hours per week on our farm sites doing a variety of farm tasks and receive a share of vegetables as well as free admission to relevant workshops and conferences.

To submit your application, download the above pdf and return your completed application via email to nick@growpittsburgh.org or print and return to:

Grow Pittsburgh c/o Nick Lubecki
6587 Hamilton Ave. #2W
Pittsburgh, PA 15206

What is the Pre-Apprenticeship program?

• The pre-apprenticeship is a program in partnership with Pasa Sustainable Agriculture for those who have little or no growing experience but are interested in exploring a farming career. Completing this pre-apprenticeship will give you the required experience to participate in Pasa’s Diversified Vegetable Apprenticeship, which provides paid intensive farmer training by pairing participants with farms with a proven track record and a farmer-led, expert-designed curriculum.
• The curriculum is based on the core duties and skills for Pasa’s vegetable farming apprenticeship program such as plant propagation, soil fertility, crop planning, harvest and post-harvest handling, and more. More details on the pre-apprenticeship can be found here: https://pasafarming.org/soil-institute/farmer-training-development/diversified-vegetable-pre-apprenticeship/
• Participants commit to at least 4 hours a week from April 10 – Nov 4, 2023. There are two categories of positions: Field work and Harvest. The idea is to switch in the second year to gain exposure to all aspects of the farm. This may involve helping with: preparing fields, plantings, cultivation, harvesting and packaging crops to be distributed in the communities surrounding our farms at farm stands.
• To graduate from the program, a pre-apprentice must complete 225 hours of on-the-job training and 25 hours of related technical instruction. Please note that this is a two year program. In order to complete the hours required for a pre-apprenticeship participants will need to complete a second season with Grow Pittsburgh.

Benefits

• Participants receive a weekly CSA share of our produce in exchange for 4 hours of help. 
• Membership to Grow Pittsburgh. Membership includes: free admission to relevant Grow Pittsburgh, membership to our Garden Resource Center, and a free t-shirt.
• Free admission to: Pasa workshops and the annual PASA conference in Lancaster, PA
• Participants gain valuable experience working side by side with Grow Pittsburgh farmers. 

Requirements

• Volunteers must be prepared to work outside in all types of weather including heat and rain, where you’ll be on your feet and moving for hours at a time.
• Requires bending, kneeling, squatting, or lifting loads up to 40 lbs.
• Pre-apprenticeship opportunities are limited in number and require a contract to be signed in advance.
• Must commit to the whole season