Valley Plains Equipment seeks students to enroll into John Deere Tech Program
Mar. 29—Editor's note: This story and accompanying photo are advertorial content in the 2025 "Moving the Community Forward" special section of The Jamestown Sun.
JAMESTOWN — Valley Plains Equipment is looking for students to enroll in its John Deere Tech Program that helps individuals become a service technician for its equipment.
Valley Plains Equipment sends students to Lake Area Technical College in Watertown, South Dakota, to go through a two-year program that emphasizes becoming a diesel mechanic and learning about John Deere equipment, said Brooke Alfson, employee resources at Valley Plains Equipment.
"So they go through a bunch of mechanical stuff, electrical, hydraulic, and they do a bunch of different stuff and learn the basics of how to operate machinery, how to remove and replace certain parts and to diagnose something that is wrong," she said.
Once students complete the program, they will get their certification as a service technician and a full-time job with Valley Plains Equipment.
"There's obviously continuing education that continues throughout your time with us because everything is always changing and evolving," Alfson said.
She said students who enroll into the John Deere Tech Program are almost guaranteed a job as a service technician once they graduate.
Individuals who want to enroll into the program will do a paid internship with Valley Plains Equipment the summer before they attend Lake Area Technical College to ensure that they enjoy what they are doing and see the work they will do as a service technician.
Once students are sent to Lake Area Technical College, Valley Plains Equipment pays for the student's tuition and tools, books and fees and provides each student with a laptop computer. Alfson said Valley Plains Equipment has an apartment complex in Watertown where students can stay and provides a $2,000 stipend per semester for housing.
"That is a huge help, obviously, when your college and tools and everything is getting paid for," she said.
Alfson said students will work at a Valley Plains Equipment dealership for two weeks each semester to apply what they learned.
She said individuals can show interest in the program as early as they want to but Valley Plains Equipment won't bring them on for the paid internship until the summer before they attend Lake Area Technical College.
"They can definitely come in earlier and do job shadows and meet the team and look around the shop and just see If that's something that they would like to do," she said.
To enroll into the program, visit your local Valley Plains Equipment dealership or go to
www.valleyplainsequipment.com/John-Deere-Tech-Program
and select "JD Tech Program" under "How to Apply" to fill out information that includes your name, phone number, what year you graduate high school and which Valley Plains Equipment location you would like to partner with.
"That gets sent directly to me, and then I will reach out from there," Alfson said.
Locations for Valley Plains Equipment include Ashley, Ellendale, Galesburg, Hillsboro, Hunter, Jamestown, LaMoure, Milnor, Napoleon and Valley City in North Dakota. Valley Plains Equipment also has locations in Britton, South Dakota, and Crookston, Minnesota.
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