Ontario Grain Farmer November 2021

30 LABOUR SHORTAGES CONTINUE to plague the agri-food industry, and while COVID-19 amplified their effect, organizations are battling on a number of fronts to relieve the pressure. Recent research by the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) shows that by 2029, there will be a shortfall of 123,000 Canadians to fill vacancies, translating to billions in lost revenue. “The pandemic brought a lot of issues to the attention of not only agricultural employers but the Canadian public as well,” says Jennifer Wright, CARHC’s acting executive director. “We had a few more local people considering working in agriculture, with layoffs in the restaurant and retail sectors,” she adds. THE COVID EFFECT In order to get a better grasp on how the pandemic affected the agricultural labour market, CAHRC published a report in the spring of 2021 that showed 41 per cent of employers surveyed said that they could not find all the workers they needed. Of those, 71 per cent said they received fewer Canadian applicants. “The effects of the pandemic varied greatly by sector, with horticulture and meat processing feeling it the most,” says Debra Hauer, CAHRC’s Agri-LMI (Labour Market Intelligence) manager. While the pandemic did not hit grains and oilseeds farmers themselves as hard, shortages of, for example, general labourers and truck drivers, affected all agricultural sectors. These issues have been identified in as-yet unpublished research from CAHRC that will show the gaps in skills and occupation in Ontario’s agriculture and food processing sectors. “Everyone we talked to — across all the sectors — identified the lack of truck drivers as a problem,” Hauer says. “It’s expensive and time-consuming to become a truck driver, which presents a barrier to entry.” She also said there is a need for equipment service technicians. “With the increasing use of computer technology, people are needed to design, install, and maintain this equipment,” she says, adding that a couple of years ago, a dairy farmer told her that it is tough to find techs — who usually live in cities — who are willing to get their boots dirty. Perceptions of jobs in the agri-food industry are a real barrier to attracting workers. “People think that all agricultural jobs are minimumwage, when we know there are many opportunities in truck driving, machinery mechanics, software technology, and many other areas that aren’t,” she says. Hauer points out that, during the pandemic, many people re-evaluated what their lives were like, and some entrepreneurs opted for striking out and starting their own farms. “There are a lot of people who have that dream — but becoming a farm worker? Not so much,” she says. ADDRESSING THE ISSUES Feeding Your Future is a joint initiative of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, AgCareers.com, and CareersInFood.com. It was started with funding from the federal- provincial Canadian Agricultural Partnership in May 2020 to help employers find and train workers all along the agri-food chain. Organizers started an online job matching service to connect farmers and food manufacturers with people seeking employment Agricultural labour issues persist HELP IS ON THE WAY Lois Harris in the sector. They also presented virtual career fairs across the province in which participants could visit “booths” displaying different food, beverage, and agricultural positions, talk one-on-one via chat or video about the opportunities and either explore various opportunities for employees or find workers for employers. “They’ve been able to do a great job of connecting job seekers with employers, and because it’s virtual, it’s easier to make those connections,” says Wright. The initiative includes a series of webinars and training videos and a social media campaign called Ag@Work with the hashtag #FeatureYourFuture that highlights young people who work successfully in diverse areas of the industry. AGRI-SKILLS CAHRC’s Agri-Skills program includes webinars, workshops, e-learning, and on-the-job training aimed at providing training from both the human resources management side and the commodity-specific production side. “The program comes from subject matter experts who contribute to the development of the occupational standards and definitions of competencies,” says Wright. “They’re national, so it’s easy to access the tools no matter where you are in the country.” CAHRC’s AgriHR Toolkit has more than 1,400 subscribers. It provides employers with everything they need to find, retain, and support employees and is the result of years of research and field-testing. TWONEWPROGRAMS FROMCAHRC Wright says that her organization is currently doing in-depth research into what kinds of skills will be required in the future. Human Resources