Internships

West Hills College Coalinga, through its Farm of the Future, has developed a local training program to prepare students for the field of irrigation and water management.  West Hills College has asked CAIA to help identify opportunities for these students to intern with irrigation companies. A description of the training classes follows. If your company would be interested in offering internships to these students, please contact class instructor, Dr. Tim Ellsworth (timothyellsworth@whccd.edu)
 
With approximately 235 hours of face-to-face class time, the AET 21 and AET 22 WHCC Courses have taught individuals the principles of agricultural irrigation system management, design, and evaluation.  The courses addressed micro-irrigation (surface and subsurface drip, micro-spray, bubblers), surface (furrow, border strip, basin) and sprinkler irrigation systems.  Individuals are prepared for the management, evaluation and basic design of these systems. They have also received training in soil-plant-water relationships, various methods for monitoring soil and plant water status, performing crop evapotranspiration estimation, water budgets and irrigation scheduling analyses, as well as the basic principles of on-farm irrigation system design. These courses provide an opportunity for students to become a Certified Agricultural Irrigation Specialist, which is recognized in the region and Irrigation Association.