Pay workers more, increase benefits and provide more education and training for potential workers to improve the ag industry’s labour prospects.
That’s a summary of comments from groups who responded to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s “What We Heard” report, released May 18, on the federal agricultural labour strategy.
AAFC spent the last year surveying industry groups, worker representatives, the Canadian Agricultural Youth Council and other food, farming and labour players.
Read Also
Mazergroup’s Bob Mazer dies
Mazergroup’s Bob Mazer, who helped grow his family’s company into a string of farm equipment dealerships and the main dealer for New Holland machinery in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, died July 6 from cancer.
The survey put on paper what the industry already knows: employers can’t find workers and have a hard time attracting them due to their rural location, type of work and wages.
Other insights included the desire for stronger workplace culture, which stakeholders felt would leave employees feeling valued and connected to their work; a need for tailored approaches to recruit from under-represented and marginalized groups; and the lack of dedicated human resources capacity among small and medium-sized businesses.
The report noted risks associated with adopting more automation and technology to reduce manual labour.
Suggested solutions included improving wages and offering benefits, training and skills development; creating mentorship programs for youth and under-represented groups; and increasing public education about career opportunities in the sector.
“We appreciate the commitment to collaborative and sustained engagement from AAFC and [federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau] that will ensure both strategies remain aligned on wanting to take complementary and collaborative action on short, medium and long-term solutions to address labour shortages and systemic workforce challenges,” the Canadian Agricultural Human Resources Council and Canadian Federation of Agriculture said in a joint news release.
Since 2021, the two groups have spearheaded an industry-led national workforce framework for agriculture and food.
AAFC said “targeted engagement” will continue throughout 2023 as it sifts through its options for the labour strategy.
