
Labour market tightness is one of the largest factors affecting Canada’s food and beverage processing industry’s growth. Resolving hiring and recruitment barriers which give employers access to skilled workers, in addition to solving retention issued through updated human resource best management practices is critical. Food Processing Skills Canada has developed initiatives such as Succeeding at Work , Skills Training Atlantic Canada, Food Safety Employment Readiness Program , as well as certification and accreditation to address anticipated labour gaps and new training requirements. These initiatives are professionalizing the food and beverage processing industry by developing a workforce that is skilled and competent.
In February of 2020, Food Processing Skills Canada released “Your Next Worker: Everything You Need to Know”, a report analyzing four different population segments facing labour market challenges that have the potential to be engaged by the food and beverage manufacturing sector. These segments – youth, Indigenous People, recent immigrants and unemployed individuals, or those who have been unemployed at least twice within the last 5 years, were shown to be more willing than the rest of the Canadian population to take a job in the industry. In particular, the willingness of recent immigrants and Indigenous people has emerged as two promising segments for food and beverage career development.