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By Alice McFarlane

Skilled Labour Shortage

Ag industry will be involved in evaluating the post-pandemic labour market situation

Apr 10, 2023 | 4:11 PM

The Canadian agriculture industry has been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and one of the most pressing issues that it faces today is the availability of skilled labour.

Canadian Agricultural Human Resources Council (CAHRC) is launching a survey to evaluate the post-pandemic labour market situation.

CAHRC is a national, non-profit organization focused on addressing human resource issues facing agricultural businesses across Canada. The council works with industry leaders, governments, and educational stakeholders to research, develop and communicate solutions to the challenges in employment and skills development in primary agriculture.

Executive Director Jennifer Wright said the survey will serve as a reference point to the data that CAHRC has been gathering for almost a decade.

“The Canadian agriculture industry has been experiencing a growing labour shortage that is turning to a labour crisis. The update to this research will provide a measurement of what that labour shortage is currently and forecast what the future holds,” Wright said.

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The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing issues, such as labour shortages and other challenges. Wright said it’s crucial to understand the current market situation and the impact of the pandemic on the industry’s workforce and better understand how workforce needs have changed so the agricultural industry can present the new research to policy makers to guide future action.

“This data is often used to inform policy, funding, training and education programs and labour market information assessments,” she said. “The more participation we have in this survey the better the data will be.”

Roughly 800 Canadian farm owner-operators, agricultural workers and supporting stakeholder groups will be surveyed and the input received will guide future action on labour shortages. These individuals and organizations will have until Apr. 30 to complete the survey.

The previous Labour Market Information (LMI) study was completed in 2018. This update will investigate opportunities and barriers to participation among groups in Canada’s population that have traditionally been under-represented in the agricultural workforce. This includes Indigenous peoples, new Canadians, women, youth and older workers.

The industries in this study will also expand to include agriculture retail, cannabis production and organic production.

The council represents farming in all forms including traditional and non-traditional livestock; producing, cultivating, growing, harvesting, or collecting conventional and non-conventional agriculture commodities; and any practices performed as an integral part of an agricultural operation.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @farmnewsNOW