1.0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Food Processing Skills Canada wishes to express sincere appreciation to the hundreds of firms and individuals who contributed directly and indirectly to this report and in particular to the members of the Advisory Committee who were instrumental in the planning, development, and validation of the study.
| INDUSTRY | |
| Edith Laplante | Aliments Asta Inc. |
| Sean Kelly | Black Angus Fine Meats and Game |
| Paul Wannet | Cargill Limited |
| Pauline Zwiers | Conestoga Meat Packers Ltd. |
| Donna Pomeroy | Country Ribbon Inc. |
| Nicolas Bilodeau | Exceldor Coopérative |
| Jeremy Janzen | Hylife Foods LP |
| Yonathan Negussie | JBS Food Canada Inc. |
| Bonnie Windsor | Johnston Packers LTD |
| Maggie Pearce | Newmarket Meat Packers LTD |
| Isabelle Leblond | Olymel Société en Commandite LP |
| UNION | |
| Derek Johnstone | United Food and Commercial Workers (ON) |
| PARTNERS | |
| Nova Woodbury | BC Association of Abattoirs |
| Marie-France MacKinnon | Canadian Meat Council |
| Robin Hore | Canadian Poultry & Egg Processors Council |
| Sylvie Cloutier | Conseil de la transformation alimentaire du Québec |
| Daphne Nuys-Hall | Ontario Independent Meat Processors |
| GOVERNMENT | |
| Philippe Massé | Employment and Social Development Canada (HQ) |
| Benoit Tessier | Employment and Social Development Canada (HQ) |
| Shelly Binch | Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (HQ) |
| Patti Negrave | Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (HQ) |
| Corinne Prince-St-Amand | Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (HQ) |
Special acknowledgments are extended to the consulting team who undertook the research, surveys, site visits, translation, and report writing.
2.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION
Meat processing is an important part of the Canadian economy, contributing about $6.5 billion to Canada’s GDP and employing nearly 60,000 people across the country – most of them in predictable, full-time jobs in both rural and urban centres, with opportunities to progress to higher skilled, higher paid jobs in the industry.
It’s also a significant exporter, sending products worth more than $7.6 billion a year to the rest of the world. that’s a quarter of Canada’s total food and beverage exports, with significant growth potential, especially in markets such as europe and Asia.
That means the sector is going to need a lot more workers to keep up with existing demand and build capacity to handle this growth – current forecasts suggest the sector will need an additional 25,000 workers over the next 12 years.
But that’s easier said than done.
Employers in the meat processing sector have been suffering from labour shortages for years. And, as this study concludes, the situation is projected to worsen under status quo conditions. The industry will need to hire a net of nearly 2,275 additional new workers over the next three years to meet expansion and workforce retirements. replacement demands (deaths and retirements) alone are expected to total 5,500 between 2017 and 2030. Taking account of both replacement and expansion demands, the industry will likely need to hire just over 10,400 new workers, or (77%) of the current workforce over the next 13 years. Unfortunately, this recruitment need will be occurring within the context of very tight regional labour markets that are currently experiencing labour shortages during peak seasons and which are predicted to continue during this period.
Overall, the analysis indicated that eight of the fourteen regions studied in-depth, were facing very tight labour markets where the current or projected demand for workers (total and lower skill level) from the regional industries was higher than the existing local labour market (see table below).
| Region | Total Labour Force | Lower Skill-Level Labour Force | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |
| Brandon, Manitoba | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Brooks, Alberta | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Saint-Esprit, Quebec | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Wynyard, Saskatchewan | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Kings Country, Nova Scotia | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Levis, Quebec | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Chilliwack, British Columbia | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Guelph, Ontario | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| High River, Alberta | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Langley, British Columbia | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Toronto, Ontario | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Hamilton, Ontario | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Winnipeg, Manitoba | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
1= Meat processing employment demand is less than 50% of regional labour force at annual average employment levels
2 = Meat processing employment demand is between 50 and 100% of regional labour force at annual average employment levels
3 = Meat processing employment demand is greater than 100% of regional labour force at annual average employment level
Many smaller processors are looking for solutions that are pragmatic and easy to implement, as they don’t necessarily have the capacity to adapt complex solutions to their specific situations. fortunately, there are some promising practices being tried across the industry that could be investigated and adapted by meat processors big and small to start attracting more people to work in this important and growing sector.
WHAT IS CANADA’S MEAT PROCESSING SECTOR?
The roughly 1,600 businesses in Canada’s meat processing sector employed approximately 58,000 people in 2017. Almost half (45%) of these businesses are small, with 10 or fewer employees, and another 30 percent have between 11 and 60 workers. Just 11 percent have more than 200 employees, and the average “very large” employer has 668 employee.
A significant share of Canadian meat products is shipped internationally, with the largest firms focused extensively on export markets in the United States and internationally. Many meat processors with 60-120 employees are also active exporters.
This existing predisposition to export markets, even among medium-sized businesses, is a good indicator of the sector’s potential growth, most of which will come from exports over the next decade. It’s also a positive indicator for potential capacity to continue to develop growing export markets, as these businesses already have some export expertise.
Two recent trade agreements – the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) – are expected to have a significant positive impact on demand for Canadian meat products, with demand particularly strong for beef products. And Canada’s meat industry has the capacity to increase the amount of beef, poultry and pork available as it is not limited by quotas or production restrictions.
Therefore, the major limiter on taking advantage of these export opportunities will be in processing the meat, not producing it. And one of the key limiters on processing meat is how many people are employed in the industry.
Much of the value-added for meat products can be in the secondary processing, such as turning the raw product into things like sausages, deli meats, and frozen nuggets, as well as specialty meats, such as specialty pork for the Japanese market, and packaging of products for retail sale, including boneless, skinless chicken breasts in multi-portion styro trays. Halal processed meats are also growing in demand. To address this value-added component of meat processing, the sector will need increased investments in technology and quality assurance processes – and more workers.
WHAT KIND OF WORKERS WILL IT NEED?
Meat occupations are divided into three main areas: meat and poultry slaughtering/abattoir occupations, meat-cutting occupations and poultry processing occupations. Each of these groupings consists of six main levels, ranging from foundational occupations (such as general packers and live receivers) to intermediate (including industrial butchers and trimmers) to higher skill jobs such as lead butcher and supervisory occupations. There are also management positions and senior executive leadership occupations. (Another closely connected group of occupations deals with quality control and quality assessment, with five main levels.)
The industry places a heavy reliance on on-the-job training, with three of the six occupational levels requiring no specific post-secondary training or education, and two of the six not necessarily requiring high school diplomas. As a result, entry into the sector is easy, and there is room for career progression based on work experience rather than having to undergo formal training or education.
Nevertheless, because the sector can be perceived as a low-skill one with limited career progression opportunities, it can be challenging to recruit and retain workers. In addition, there are significant physical requirements for many of the jobs, and for meat slaughtering, it is important to find workers who can tolerate the slaughter environment.
HOW MANY WORKERS WILL BE NEEDED?
Despite the sector’s strong employment numbers, more than half (55%) of Canada’s meat processors say they cannot find enough people for all the available jobs or experience chronic recruitment challenges. it’s estimated that that 7,300 positions went unfilled in 2016, affecting one in five (22%) of processors.
These staffing challenges are compounded by a high annual turnover rate (41% overall) that, in effect, means employers must hire approximately 1.4 people for every job opening. Last year, that meant hiring an estimated 24,500 people. And they’re doing this in several tight local labour markets while competing with other meat processors for available labour and with employers in other industries who may be able to offer higher wages or better working conditions, or both.
An additional challenge is that almost half (46%) of workers in meat processing are lower-skilled production level workers who don’t require specialist qualifications, making them more mobile among various employers, jobs and industries. Despite recent increases in wages, production labourers in the meat processing sector appear to receive lower hourly wages than similar labourers in other sectors. Meanwhile, the supply of workers with lower levels of education is shrinking relative to the overall labour force as youth achieve rising levels of educational training over time.
It is in this difficult labour environment that the meat processing will be trying to hire approximately 32,000 additional workers over the next 12 years to replace workers who retire or die and to take advantage of the sector’s growth opportunities. That means approximately 2,500 workers must be hired every year between 2018 and 2030, not including those who are needed to fill vacant positions or replace those who leave after working for just a brief period.
There may be some limited opportunities for meat processors to increase their hiring of workers available locally by offering substantial wage hikes and improvements to working conditions, but in many regions, there simply aren’t enough people to meet local employment requirements in all sectors competing for workers.
Processors also have limited opportunities to try to bring in more workers from other places, either by regional relocation or through the Temporary Foreign Workers Program or to use technology and automation to lower their requirements for labour (although this may not be a cost-effective option for the many small processors employing 10 or fewer workers. A more drastic option could be to try moving processing plants closer to more readily available pools of labour, but processors would still find themselves competing with other sectors for those workers.
Taking all of this into account, meat processors continue to face substantial challenges in their attempts to recruit enough workers to replace retirements, fill ongoing vacancies and work to address turnover rates while also trying to grow, remain competitive and increase productivity.
WHERE WILL IT FIND THEM?
Canada’s meat processing industry is characterized by a large number of small to medium-sized plants, often in rural or remote locations, particularly if the plant is associated with a slaughter or abattoir facility. These plants have small populations from which to draw enough workers to operate, a situation made more difficult by the continued demographic shift away from rural and remote communities to urban centres.
Meat processors in urban or suburban locations have a different challenge in finding enough workers, as they often face considerable competition from other sectors and industries for the available pool for labour.
Women: Men still dominate the meat processing industry, making up two-thirds of the workforce in 2017. For the industry to attract more women, it will need to consider such things as child-care provision, school holidays and parental leave factors.
Older workers: Similarly, in order to attract and retain older workers, employers may need to adjust their current working conditions by shortening the length of shifts, providing time off for medical appointments, providing health benefits and helping employees transition into semi-retirement stages.
Youth: Recruiting youth to work in meat processing is becoming more difficult, with fewer youth as a proportion of the overall Canadian population, declining youth unemployment rates and the ongoing trend of young people moving out of rural Canada (where many of the larger meat processing plants are located) in favour of larger urban areas. In addition, students often want to match summer employment with their career interests and tend to prefer working conditions that do not require physical labour.
Nevertheless, the sector may be seen by some youth as an employer that can help them make a successful transition into the labour market despite various personal barriers, such as lower levels of education, a lack of work experience or appearance and attitude issues. Any initiatives to help youth facing these challenges would need to be implemented with proper supports and in coordination with community and training agencies that assist at-risk youth.
Improving retention rates for younger employees could be possible if processors adapt a “gaming environment” at work, with ongoing performance feedback, adapting the production line to allow music to be played, and by providing “phone breaks” during shifts.
Unemployed: Most meat processing jobs in Canada (80%) are permanent, full-time positions, so there is no pool of unemployed workers already familiar with the industry waiting to be called back for seasonal work. Furthermore, much of the beef industry is located in the western provinces, where recent lower rates of unemployment reduced the number of people looking for work, while competition for labour is also tight in southern ontario, which has a high proportion of meat processors.
New Canadians: New immigrants and refugees make up one in 10 workers in the current meat processing workforce, with a further three percent working in the industry as temporary foreign workers. Clearly, new Canadians represent a significant pool of potential employees for meat processors, but this is tempered by the difficulty in finding enough established immigrants willing to live and work in rural and remote communities where many plants are located.
Indigenous Canadians: Indigenous Canadians appear to be underrepresented in the meat processing sector, which could be due to a lack of knowledge among processors of the local indigenous communities as a potential supply of workers. In order to increase the engagement of local indigenous communities in meat processing, it will be important to understand the various factors that can detract or contribute to that engagement.
WHAT DO POTENTIAL WORKERS THINK?
There appear to be low awareness levels among canadians about employment in the meat processing sector. One of the most common perceptions, however, is that jobs are located in rural locations, offered right out of school and don’t always require specific training or education. Taken together with the most significant perceptual challenges for potential employees – the killing of animals, the presence of strong odours and the physical nature of the work – it’s clear meat processors face considerable obstacles to finding enough workers to meet the industry’s needs, now and in the future.
That said, research conducted as part of this study suggests that providing people with factual information about employment in the sector has a positive impact on their willingness to consider working in it.
Specifically, the overall increase in the proportion of respondents who said they would consider a job in the sector after completing the ChoicebookTM survey was eight percentage points. Youth, Indigenous Canadians and the unemployed who completed the survey showed similar increases in willingness, while among new Canadians the rise was much higher, at 14 percentage points.
This combination of low awareness levels about employment in the sector and the relative open-mindedness about the topic suggests there is potential to increase the available labour pool through increased communications activities directed at all four target audiences, most notably new Canadians. Research suggest that the information with the strongest positive impact on someone’s willingness to work in the sector are often offers of performance and retention bonuses, the availability of predictable, full-time work, and transportation to and from work. For youth, key drivers are also offers to cover the costs of tuition and school supplies.
The meat processing industry hasn’t been sitting still in the face of its recruitment and retention challenges and has been trying many different things to try to deal with those challenges. There is enough hard evidence and much positive anecdotal results to suggest some “promising practices” that could be further investigated and adapted by employers and other stakeholders.
The following recommendations are drawn from the LMI study results and implications. Several are aimed at further stabilizing the sector’s labour market situation. The expectation is that these will provide enough time for the longer-term measures contained in the other recommendations to produce impacts and, ultimately, create labour market equilibrium in the meat processing industry.
RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE IMPACTS OVER THE NEAR TERM
RECOMMENDATION: REGIONAL SOLUTIONS
The current labour market demand versus supply situation is tight and projected to persist until at least 2030. With no single obvious solution to the labour shortage, it is likely that progress can only come through incremental improvements in a range of areas, including within plants (e.g., shorter shifts for older workers), as well as outside of them (e.g., rural economy development). government policies and programs can have a significant positive impact on the industry’s success, and concomitantly, on the success of the communities that the plants call home.
It is recommended that Governments at all levels conduct a coordinated review of all relevant programs and policies, including R&D funding, immigration policies, ei policies, employment-related training and rural development.
Additionally, that communications between federal, provincial, and municipal governments as well as intra-departmental discussions within government improve, to ensure there is more collaboration and a clearer focus on outcomes.
| Key Players | Initial Step |
|---|---|
|
|
RECOMMENDATION: ADDRESSING THE CRITICAL LABOUR SHORTAGE
The research has determined the sector is currently facing, and is expected to continue to face, a significant labour shortage. This situation has negative implications for the competitiveness of the sector and potentially, for its survival. There is a need to implement measures to help balance labour market supply and demand relatively quickly. The following recommendations are aimed at achieving this.
The federal government should consider:
- Creating a special industrial meat cutter immigration stream to alleviate the shortage in plants large and small across the country.
- Lifting restrictions on the number of times a Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) can return to work for sector employers.
- Removing the cap on the number of TFW a sector employer can hire per year.
- Lowering the cost of applying to the TFW program.
- Simplifying the LMIA process (e.g., by making local level LMI data available to employers).
- Revive the Career Focus Wage Subsidy Program for meat and poultry processors as it was an effective recruiting tool for recent post secondary graduates, with 90% of hires staying on.
| Key Players | Initial Step |
|---|---|
|
|
RECOMMENDATION: FLEXIBLE WORKPLACES
It is recommended that employers should work with unions and industry associations to consider adapting their workplaces to meet the specific needs and preferences of the workforce. Examples include:
- Shifts that correspond to worker needs and preferences (e.g., shorter shifts where the workforce has a lot of older employees, flexibility in scheduling).
- Addressing youth preferences (e.g., phone breaks, music while working, gaming considerations in measuring performance).
- Transportation (e.g., bus transportation for communities to the plant).
Given the diversity in the workforce, the traditional wage and benefit package is less attractive to today’s generation of workers than previous generations.
Employers should consider further tailoring compensation packages to include aspects such as forgoing health benefits for higher wages, education bursaries, benefits for part-time workers, and leaves of absence for various reasons (education, travel). Employees could perhaps pick from a menu of benefits. In a similar vein, employers could develop a recruitment and retention rewards programs. Examples include employee referral bonuses, retention bonuses and tenure milestone bonuses.
| Key Players | Initial Step |
|---|---|
|
|
RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE IMPACTS OVER THE MEDIUM TERM
RECOMMENDATION: SUPPORT MORE SKILLED MEAT CUTTERS TO IMMIGRATE PERMANENTLY TO CANADA THROUGH CHANGES TO THE NOC CODING SYSTEM
The industry is currently using the TFWP to bring in skilled meat cutters needed to fill vacant positions. an emphasis on “temporary” is not useful for the industry or the workers, given that these are permanent, full time positions for which there currently are not available canadians to fill them.
The federal government should consider changing the NOC coding system to recognize high levels of skill required for some of the industrial meat cutting occupations. The current occupational coding for industrial meat cutters is at a level “C” (NOC 9462), which makes it challenging for the higher skilled industrial meat cutters to be considered for many of the permanent pathways for immigration. The study suggests that a level “C” underrates the actual level of skill required to succeed as an industrial meat cutter (e.g., retail butchering, classified as skill level B, is now occurring at the plant level in response to increasing demand for case-ready products).
| Key Players | Initial Step |
|---|---|
|
|
RECOMMENDATION: FOCUS ON PERMANENT PATHWAYS FOR IMMIGRATION
In many rural communities, there are not enough people to support industry employment requirements (including the meat processing sector).
It is recommended that federal and provincial immigration policies and programming should be reviewed with the following in mind:
- Focus on community development from multiple dimensions in addition to economic considerations.
- Accord additional “points” for families willing to remain in rural/semi-rural communities.
- Strike a better balance between filling skilled and semi-skilled labour needs.
- Develop express entry or other federal paths to permanent residency for positions in the meat processing industry.
- Provide advance standing in the permanent residency program based on a TFW’s past performance.
| Key Players | Initial Step |
|---|---|
|
|
RECOMMENDATION: ENCOURAGE YOUNG FAMILIES TO REMAIN OR RELOCATE TO RURAL COMMUNITIES
In addition to encouraging immigrants to settle permanently in processing plant communities, employers and governments should develop an “all of community” approach to encourage young families to remain or relocate to rural communities. Potential approaches include:
- A community focus on immigrant retention – joint responsibility with support from all sectors (education/training, faith communities, small business, large industry, housing, banks, health
- Analyze the fit between current community facilities/priorities and young families’ needs (e.g., affordable housing, child care, transportation, social and recreational amenities).
- Develop employment opportunities taking into account family requirements (two parents employed, benefit packages, day-care requirements, flexible scheduling).
- Emphasize the benefits of rural community lifestyle (e.g., enjoying the outdoors, quiet, safe, great place to raise a family (and retire)).
| Key Players | Initial Step |
|---|---|
|
|
RECOMMENDATION: ENGAGING EFFECTIVELY WITH GROUPS EXPERIENCING LOW LABOUR MARKET PARTICIPATION
The industry has a prevalence of positions that require neither a high school diploma nor previous training. Despite decreasing levels of unemployment in many of the regions studied, there remain groups of individuals who for various reasons have challenges finding and/or keeping a job.
It is recommended that the sector work with community and training agencies, as well as provincial social assistance programs, to provide essential skills and employment readiness training to at-risk youth and other groups with historically tenuous attachments to the labour force. Potential approaches include:
- Adapting the working conditions and environment to meet the needs and priorities of the new entrant (iterative onboarding, tailored training to address learning challenges, shorter shifts, combined essential skills training with on-the-job training approaches).
- Developing and communicating multiple clear milestones for the development and achievement of new entrants, along with clear feedback mechanisms.
- Making allowances for new entrants to maintain some of their government benefits (EI, Social Assistance) while integrating into the work environment.
| Key Players | Initial Step |
|---|---|
|
|
RECOMMENDATION: FIRST NATIONS PARTNERSHIPS
There were limited examples found during the study of effective engagement of Indigenous workers by the industry, even though there is a significant number of Indigenous communities (e.g., First Nations reserve lands; Indigenous urban populations) located within commuting distance of meat processing plants.
It is recommended that consideration be given to the following ways that plants could engage with this underrepresented group:
- Investing in partnerships with indigenous communities (e.g., training, transportation projects, work placements)
- Gaining increased knowledge of the needs and priorities of Indigenous communities regarding employment, economic development, cultural considerations, etc.
- investing in an “Indigenous Partnerships Advisor” in a similar way that many plants are now investing in immigration advisors and expertise concerning immigration issues
- Working directly in partnership with indigenous community employment and training centres and umbrella organizations (e.g., ASETS-holders) to ensure that the meat processing industry is considered in career planning, training support, etc.
- Drawing connections between aspects of meat processing and traditional indigenous practices and beliefs (e.g., minimizing waste and total use of animal, feeding families, humane treatment of animals).
As part of these efforts, local economic development agencies and Service Canada offices should work with local First Nations communities to better understand how various factors can help or hinder First Nations and Métis community members becoming part of the industry’s labour force. These agencies and offices could also serve as conduits or go-betweens for First Nations and Métis communities and employers who have had little or no contact with these communities in the past.
| Key Players | Initial Step |
|---|---|
|
|
RECOMMENDATION: SECTOR EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS
The image of the industry ranges from neutral to positive for a large portion of the public, including youth, Indigenous Canadians and immigrants. It is recommended that the industry capitalize on this relative openness by providing labour market participants with opportunities to enhance their awareness and knowledge of jobs in the industry. Methods could include open houses, organized tours, virtual tours (that youth, employment counsellors, etc. could easily access online) and video testimonials/profiles. Also:
- In more suburban-urban centres, temporary workers recruited through temporary agencies can be recruited for permanent positions after payment to agencies (in essence, temporary agencies are working as recruitment agencies for the plants).
- The implementation of more in-depth onboarding (e.g., assignment of “coaches”) after someone is hired has reduced the number of “fast quits” in some companies.
- For newcomers to Canada, on-line pre-arrival training is recommended (e.g., Pre-Arrival Food Safety Management Training Program).
- The research also provides guidance for tailoring outreach and awareness campaigns to various segments. These include promoting the sector within the spectrum of “farm to fork” and building on the current attention being paid to “foodie culture” and the increased desire by some groups to learn more about their food.
Conveying the wide variety of skill requirements and types of positions available could also help improve the industry’s attractiveness, along with the idea that working in the sector is more than just a job. presenting the demanding/physical nature of some jobs as “working-class heroic” (e.g., the way oil and gas, military and construction jobs can be portrayed) could attract a segment of the labour market.
It is also recommended that the sector develop closer ties with secondary and post-secondary schools to help build awareness of employment possibilities among students and to develop/expand experiential learning programs and opportunities for the sector. Participation in experiential learning programs (e.g., co-op, apprenticeship, pre-apprenticeship, work readiness, summer jobs) could provide sector employers with several benefits, including conversion into permanent employees, increased awareness of the industry among youth and programs that more effectively respond to employer needs.
| Key Players | Initial Step |
|---|---|
|
|
RECOMMENDATION: EXAMINE REASONS FOR THE LOW LEVELS OF ENROLLMENT IN EXISTING TRAINING FOR MEAT CUTTING AND BUTCHER PROGRAMS
Given the current acute shortage of highly skilled meat cutters in many regions, there would need to be considerable investment by governments and training institutions to develop additional programs to meet industry needs through education-facility-based training program(s), even though current programs are undersubscribed. Before any further investment in programming is made in this area. However, it is recommended that governments, schools and industry should gain a better understanding of current barriers to enrollment.
| Key Players | Initial Step |
|---|---|
|
|
RECOMMENDATION: SUPPORT MORE SYSTEMATIC DEVELOPMENT OF TRAINING MATERIALS, TOOLS AND PROGRAMS WITHIN THE INDUSTRY TO ENHANCE ON-THE-JOB TRAINING
Currently, most of the training of industrial meat cutters is provided by employers and is largely on-the-job training, with the possibility of considerable duplication within industry with respect to curricula and training materials. Part of this duplication of effort may be due to concerns about intellectual property, market intelligence and the need to customize training to plant specifics. Notwithstanding these concerns, it is recommended that industry associations, training groups and employers should explore ways of coordinating training initiatives (e.g., common training materials, joint programs).
| Key Players | Initial Step |
|---|---|
|
|
RECOMMENDATION: INDUSTRY LEARNING/DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS (INCLUDING SOME LEADING TO A CERTIFICATE)
The sector lacks clear pathways for employee advancement and, relatedly, suffers from high turnover rates. it is recommended that training/professional development reflect the following:
- employment in the sector is more than “just a job”;
- there are a variety of positions available; and
- there are pathways to high skilled, supervisory and management positions.
Ways of achieving this could include cross-training and lateral movement, promoting supervisors and identifying trainers from the production line, engaging with the education sector to develop training programs, and developing a national certification system for the meat processing industry. Supporting the acquisition of language skills could also be part of training and professional development (e.g., offering ESL classes).
It is also recommended that the sector work with FPSC to develop online and other training programs that lead to a certificate. Certificates could help employees advance their careers, as well as count towards requirements for certification.
| Key Players | Initial Step |
|---|---|
|
|
RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE IMPACTS OVER THE LONG TERM
RECOMMENDATION: INNOVATION PARTNERSHIPS
Advanced processing technologies and automation are needed in order to compete in global markets. to improve automation and productivity, it is recommended that a partnership be developed between government, the meat processing sector, technology development and manufacturing firms and universities to: 1) Identify options to assist small and medium-sized plants to adapt and take advantage of available automation/technology that might currently be cost-prohibitive for them, and 2) Reduce labour requirements across the sector by helping processors to adapt existing technology/automation to take into account increased tailoring for value-added products. increased automation (e.g., packaging, box folding) could also help retain workers by lessening the physicality of some positions.
The core strategic priorities for the Protein Industries Supercluster are to formulate a shared innovation map to guide technology leadership projects and to undertake a program of cluster building to enhance the quality of collaborations while also extending their benefits widely. The Innovation Partnership should work with the Supercluster to ensure the needs of meat processing companies are considered and addressed by their strategy. It is also recommended that the innovation partnerships:
- help address the funding gap in prototype commercialization;
- include an industry education component to raise awareness of available technology that could be adopted/adapted by processors; and
- include an avenue to communicate the most significant technology gaps to governments.
| Key Players | Initial Step |
|---|---|
|
|
3.0 INTRODUCTION AND STUDY OVERVIEW
This technical report summarizes the main findings and conclusions from various components of an extensive labour market information study undertaken in 2017-18 for Canada’s meat processing industry entitled Securing Canada’s Meat Workforce: Real Challenges, Practical solutions, Fresh Perspectives. This report builds upon the various technical reports that were prepared for each of the components, integrating key quantitative evidence and qualitative examples according to themes and areas.
The study was designed to identify the scope of human resource challenges for the Canadian meat processing sectors, and the human resource best practices that will help employers meet their labour force needs.
The study was undertaken by Food Processing Skills Canada (FPSC) in partnership with industry, federal and provincial governments. The study was funded under the Government of Canada’s Sector Initiative Program via Employment and Social Development Canada.
4.0 METHODS AND KEY DATA SOURCES
One of the main objectives of undertaking a large, complex and detailed labour market information study such as the current study is to attempt to quantify many of the issues and challenges with labour supply and demand that employers give voice to through qualitative methods such as interviews. The current study endeavoured to provide a balance of quantitative and qualitative methods using both primary sources of data (collected specifically for this study through industry surveys and interviews) and secondary sources of data (collected for previous studies or other purposes such as previous industry reports, statistics canada data, and industry statistics).
The main study components included the following:
- Phone and online survey of meat processors resulting in n=417 completions with firms that covered an estimated 75% of the total workforce in the sector;
- Development of regional and provincial demand models for current and future projections of employment in the meat processing sector using various sources of consumption, export and revenue data;
- Development of regional based supply models for current and future projections of labour supply overall and lower-skill levels according to 14 different regions across Canada;
- Surveys of the general population and key target audiences (youth, indigenous Canadians, new Canadians, unemployed) to collect insights into the perceptions, interests and motivations as they relate to working in the meat processing industry;
- Interviews and site visits with employers, workers, unions, provincial government representatives, and community groups involved with the meat processing sector with a primary focus on the 14 identified regions across Canada;
- A study of the key occupations and career progression (career ladders) characteristics of the sector;
- Case studies of Canada’s larger remotely located meat processors; and,
- A series of roundtables held with the meat processing industry focusing on solutions to current labour market issues and challenges.
For more detailed descriptions of methods and data sources used for each of these components, please refer to Appendix B.
5.0 PROFILE OF THE MEAT PROCESSING SECTOR
5.1 SIZE OF SECTOR AND PROCESSING ACTIVITIES
SUMMARY
The sector directly employed approximately 58,000 workers in 2017 and contributed $6.43B to GDP. There are approximately 1,600 companies in the sector. the value of Canadian meat processing exports in 2017 was estimated at $7.64B1 which accounts for 25% of Canada’s food and beverage exports.
CONSIDERATIONS
The sector is composed primarily of small businesses, with nearly half of them (45%) having 10 or fewer employees. Only 11% of businesses have more than 200 employees, with the average “very large” employer having 668 employees. Solutions to HR challenges will need to be pragmatic and easy to implement, as many small businesses do not necessarily have the capacity—financial, skills, or time—to adapt complex solutions to their specific situations.
Reliance on international markets can present both opportunities and challenges for the sector. The largest firms are most involved with the USA and international markets, with many of these firms having plants in other countries in addition to Canada. While the largest firms are extensively focused on export markets, a significant proportion of medium-sized firms (60 to 120 employees) are also involved.
Focused on international markets (26–29%) and the USA market (52–58%), this existing predisposition to export markets, even among medium-sized firms, is a strong indicator of potential growth in the sector. Given that most of the growth over the next decade will come through exports, this suggests that the sector’s numerous medium-sized enterprises already possess export expertise. This is a positive sign of their capacity to continue developing and expanding in growing export markets.
ASSOCIATED RECOMMENDATIONS
- Regional Solutions
The meat processing sector contributed approximately $6.43 billion to the 2017 GDP and employed approximately 58,000 workers that year. The listing of companies in the sector, used for the survey frame in the current study, indicated that there are approximately 1,600 companies in the industry. According to the survey of firms, the “average” sized firm (mean) has 102 workers. However, there is considerable diversity, with three-quarters of firms (75%) having fewer than 60 workers, and nearly half (45%) being very small businesses with 10 employees or fewer (see Figure 1 on the next page).
The main activities undertaken by processors in the industry, according to the survey of firms, were meat cutting (80%) and further processing (74%). Approximately half of the respondents reported operating an abattoir or being involved in slaughtering activities (47%) (see Figure 2).
| Activity Type | % |
|---|---|
| Abbatoirs / Slaughter | 47% |
| Meat cutting | 80% |
| Further processing | 74% |
The majority of firms responding to the survey reported that they process hogs (76%) (see Figure 2). Similar proportions reported processing beef cattle (70%) and chickens/poultry (66%).
The value of Canadian meat processing exports in 2017 was estimated at $7.64 billion, indicating that the sector, particularly the larger plants, is heavily reliant on exports. This was confirmed through a survey of firms, which reported that exports are highest among hog processors (15% to the USA; 10% to other countries) and among the larger processors with more than 200 employees (58% export to the USA; 69% export to other countries) (see Figure 3).
5.2 CURRENT AND FUTURE ECONOMIC POSITIONING
SUMMARY
Key determinants linked to the meat processing sector include demand factors such as the global and Canadian economic environment, exchange rates, international exports, and demographics. Recent trade agreements (CETA, TPP11) are expected to have significant positive impacts on the demand for Canadian meat products, with particularly strong demand for beef products.
CONSIDERATIONS
The meat industry has the capacity to increase the amount of raw product available (beef, poultry, pork) and is not currently limited by quotas or production restrictions. The quality of the raw product is contingent upon the producers, and some of the larger processors, particularly in pork and poultry, are extensively involved in the production of the animals. As a result, for some producers/processors, there is considerable control over the supply chain in terms of quality, timing of supply, and actual supply—quite different from fish and seafood.
Value-added for meat products can occur in secondary processing (e.g., sausages, deli meats, frozen nuggets) as well as in the packaging of products to be case-ready for retail sale (e.g., boneless/skinless chicken breasts in six-pack styro-trays). More recently, increasing levels of value-added are being achieved through specific demands from the marketplace. For example, some Asian export markets (e.g., specialty pork products in Japan) are demanding extremely
ASSOCIATED RECOMMENDATIONS
- Regional Solutions
- Innovation partnerships
specific products with very precise specifications are being demanded by some markets, while the USA and domestic markets are increasingly requesting specific approaches to raising animals, such as hormone-free beef and antibiotic-free poultry. Additionally, there is a growing demand in both domestic and export markets for Halal-processed meat. Addressing the value-added component in the industry involves a combination of increased labor requirements, often paired with investments in technology and quality assurance processes.
A large number of determinants linked to the performance of the meat processing sector were examined during the course of the project, particularly in the development of the demand forecasting models. The key determinants reviewed included:
- Global Economic Environment – The global environment is important to many meat processors because a significant share of Canadian products is shipped internationally. When considering the impact of the global economic environment related to meat exports, there is a need to consider various assumptions regarding the economic performance of key trading partners. According to US Congressional Budget Office, World Bank, IMF, OECD and UN outlooks, there is considerable uncertainty surrounding the world outlook particularly given the policy stance of the us administration and the unknown impacts of Brexit. The IMF outlook expects global growth to accelerate modestly from 3.1% to average 3.7% from 2017 to 2022.
- Canadian Economic Environment – Canadian provincial economic environments are linked to meat consumption, interprovincial trade, interindustry sales, and international exports via the value of the Canada/U.S. exchange rate. The overall Canadian economy is expected to expand on average by 2.1% over the 2017 to 2026 period and average a 2.0% growth rate over the 2027 to 2030 period. As illustrated in Figure 4, the gains will be led by Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario, all of which have growth above the national average. New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador are forecasted to average around 1% growth over the forecast period. Nova Scotia and Manitoba are expected to average between 1.0% and 1.5% growth. PEI, Quebec, and Saskatchewan are expected to average between 1.5% and 2.0% growth.
- Exchange Rate – The Canadian dollar is expected to recover steadily throughout the forecast period from the significant declines associated with the earlier commodity price decline. The Canadian dollar is forecasted to rise back toward a fair value of around 84 cents, which reflects its purchasing power parity value. Given the recent actions of the U.S. administration, there is a risk of near-term turbulence in the exchange rate.
Demographics – Canada’s age structure ensures that Canada’s natural increase (births minus deaths) will slowly diminish over the forecast horizon. The vast baby boom generation is in the years of rising death rates, while the aggregate birth rate remains at a low ebb. As a counterweight, Canada’s immigration target has increased from 260,000 in 2010–2014 to 280,000 in 2015 and 300,000 in 2016. It is planned to rise incrementally to 340,000 by 2020. The outlook calls for the target to remain at that level over the rest of the projection period. This combination of factors that influence population growth leads to total population growth slowing from slightly above 1.0% over 1997–2016 to slightly below 1.0% over 2017–2026 and around 0.9% over 2027–2030.
International Exports – As previously noted, international exports of meat products are a key driver of growth. In understanding the potential growth of international exports for the industry, a number of variables were considered, including the impact of various trade agreements, such as the Canadian–European Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP11).
CETA is anticipated to have a significant impact on meat exports, with Canadian producers expected to experience substantial gains by 2030, particularly for ruminant meats (35.1%), other meat (72.3%), and processed foods more generally (61.5%) (see Table 2).
| Product Area | EU Exports to Canada (million euros) | Canadian Exports to Eu (million euros) | Eu Exports to Canada (%) | Canadian Exports to EU (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Processed Food | 199 | 498 | 13.9% | 61.5% |
| Ruminant Meats | 199 | 498 | 13.9% | 61.5% |
| Other Meats | 199 | 498 | 13.9% | 61.5% |
For the TPP11, it is anticipated that once the agreement enters into force, the vast majority of Canadian processed meat products will benefit from duty-free access. The forecasted impact of the TPP11 on Canadian meat processing exports for 2018 to 2035 is significant, with the most impact being demonstrated for beef products (see Table 3).
| Product Area | Exports to TPP ($ million) | Imports from TPP ($ million) | Total Exports ($ million) | Total Imports ($ million) | Domestic Shipments ($ million) | Total Shipments ($ million) | Exports to TPP (%) | Imports from TPP (%) | Total Shipments (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beef | 578 | -11 | 543 | 28 | 232 | 775 | 59.01% | -2.13% | 2.07% |
| Pork & Poultry | 208 | 1 | 177 | 30 | 79 | 256 | 12.48% | 0.55% | 1.18% |
| Food Products | 241 | 66 | 216 | 65 | 45 | 262 | 14.06% | 5.14% | 0.30% |
6.0 MEAT PROCESSING OCCUPATIONS
One component of the current study was to gain a more thorough and detailed understanding of the various occupations within the meat processing sector. Work was undertaken to define occupations and career paths by collecting and analyzing job descriptions, advertisements, organizational charts, and other occupational information from a variety of processors. This process also included conducting interviews with processors and reviewing the results with an industry-led advisory group.
6.1 MEAT AND POULTRY PROCESSING OCCUPATIONS
SUMMARY
Meat processing occupations are divided into three main areas: meat and poultry slaughtering/abattoir occupations, meat cutting occupations, and poultry processing occupations. Each of these groupings consists of six main levels, ranging from foundational occupations (e.g., general packer, live receiver) to intermediate (e.g., eviscerator, industrial butcher, trimmer) to higher-skill positions (e.g., lead hand, lead butcher) and supervisory occupations (e.g., packing supervisor).
In addition, there are levels of management positions as well as senior executive leadership occupations (e.g., VP of Operations). Another closely connected group of occupations is related to quality control and quality assessment. This category includes five occupational levels, ranging from foundational (e.g., quality control inspector) to senior executive leadership positions (e.g., senior quality assurance manager).
Observations found to be related to the diversity of how occupational levels are represented in firms included: 1) Unionization has a significant impact on the division of labor in facilities; 2) The size of the facility has an impact on distinctions and differences between occupations; 3) There are significant physical requirements for many of the positions; 4) For meat slaughtering, it is important to find employees with the personal characteristics that make them tolerant of the slaughter environment; and 5) There are many different occupational titles at the foundational and intermediate levels depending on the size of the processing facility.
CONSIDERATIONS
There is a heavy reliance in the meat processing industry on on-the-job training, with three out of the six occupational levels requiring no specific post-secondary training or education, and two out of the six occupation categories not necessarily requiring high school diplomas. This presents both opportunities and challenges for the sector.
One key opportunity is that entry into the sector is easy. There are very few educational or training barriers in the way for lower-skill level workers who have limited formal education to be considered for a job in the industry. Another opportunity is that there is room for career progression within the industry based on work experience rather than upgrading or a return to formal training/education. One challenge with respect to the lower educational and skill level requirements for many of the
occupations is that the sector can be perceived as a low-skill sector with limited career progression opportunities. This can make it challenging for recruiting and retaining workers.
ASSOCIATED RECOMMENDATIONS
- Employing temporary foreign workers
- Supporting more skilled meat cutters to immigrate permanently to Canada through changes to the NOC coding system
- Engaging effectively with groups experiencing low labour market participation
- Sector employment opportunities awareness campaigns
- Supporting more systematic development of training materials, tools, and programs within the industry to enhance on-the-job training
The career ladder for meat and poultry processing is based on six occupational levels ranging from the foundational skill level (typical entry point into the industry) to the senior executive leadership skill level (managing corporate affairs and leading the strategic direction of an organization). As illustrated in Table 4, the first three levels of occupation do not usually require any post-secondary education, but instead, there is a heavy reliance on experience in the industry and on-the-job training.
| Level | Sample Titles | NOC | Experience/Education |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior Executive | Leadership, Director of Operations, VP of Operations | 0016, 0911 | Significant experience (e.g. 10+ years) within the meat and poultry processing industry, or within other food and beverage processing facilities. Responsible for managing corporate affairs and leading the strategic direction and vision of the organization. Skills in organizational management and business administration are critical. |
| Management | Yard and Premises Manager, Kill Floor Manager, Cut Production Manager, Production Manager, General Foreperson | 0911 | A minimum of 5 years of supervisory experience within the meat and poultry processing industry. Leadership experience is considered an asset. A post-secondary education may be required or considered a strong asset. Additional training in management is often required. |
| Supervisory | Kill Floor Supervisor, Meat-Packing Supervisor, Production Supervisor, Supervisor – Deboning, Senior Food Processing Supervisor | 9213 | 2-3 years of experience on the line of a meat and poultry processing facility. Additional training in production management, supervising, and employee management may be required and provided by the company. A high school diploma or equivalent is often required; additional post-secondary education is an asset. |
| High Skill | Lead Hand, Slaughtering and Cutting Jobs (higher risk or with more challenging specifications) | 9213 | At least 1-3 years of experience in meat and poultry processing and ability to perform a range of tasks on the production/processing line. A high school diploma is considered an asset. |
| Intermediate | Slaughter: Splitter/Carcass Splitter, Eviscerator, Stunner Meat Cutting: Industrial Meat Cutter, Industrial Butcher, Production Personnel Poultry: Poultry Cutter, Saw Operator, Wing Splitter | 9463 | 6 months – 1 year of experience in meat and poultry processing facilities. A high school diploma is often preferred but may not be required. |
| Foundational | Slaughter: Barn Washer, Offal Room Packer, Kidney Harvester Meat Cutting: Meat Assistant, General Labourer, General Knife Labour Poultry: Poultry Packer, Live Hanger, Production Worker | 9618 | No experience required; Some high school education may be considered an asset. |
- Impact of Unionization on Occupational Levels – Unionization of workers (and collective agreements) has a significant impact on the division of labour (tasks often classified by rate groups) as well as the degree of worker mobility across functions and departments within a facility. Collective agreements tend to stipulate the duties that workers in specific rate groups can perform. Non-unionized job positions and non-unionized facilities appear to have more flexibility regarding cross-training workers and moving workers based on aptitudes, skills, and personal competencies.
- Facility Size Impacts Occupational Levels and Titles – Job titles are dependent upon the size of the organization. In larger organizations, job titles reflect more sub-divided and specific processes/tasks. In small operations, the titles tend to be more generic/broad, and individuals perform numerous functions on an as-needed basis.
- Physical Environment and Manual Labour Requirements Are Significant – Meat and poultry processing requires a high degree of manual labour (in addition to automation). In addition to the physicality of the jobs, the environment is also a critical factor for these areas. Working with live products and the physical environment (e.g., cold, hot, wet, odorous, etc.) adds another layer of complexity to these jobs.
- Tolerance of Environment – Interviewees indicated the importance of finding employees with the personal characteristics that make them tolerant of the slaughter environment (e.g., comfortable with blood, viscera).
- Wide Range of Occupational Titles – There can be literally hundreds of occupational titles at the low- and mid-skill levels depending on the size and nature of the facility.
In addition to the meat and poultry-specific occupations, other key occupations in the industry include those in quality control and quality assurance (QA/QC). Each plant has a number of workers in these areas, and they often play an integral role in career progression for some employees.
As outlined in Table 5, foundational-level occupations have no requirement for post-secondary education but often require industry experience. Some quality functions, such as inspecting and grading, are performed by processing workers who have received extra training for these specific tasks. These workers carry out quality inspections directly on the production line and typically report to a production or processing supervisor rather than the QA department.
| Level | Sample Titles | NOC | Experience/Education |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior Executive | Leadership, Senior Quality Assurance Manager, Director – Corporate Food Safety and Quality | 0016, 0911 | Significant QA/QC experience (e.g. 10+ years) within food and beverage processing facilities. Graduate-level education and significant leadership experience often required. |
| Management | Quality Control: Quality Control Manager, Food Safety and Systems Manager Quality Assurance: Quality Assurance Manager, Food Safety Manager, Quality Assurance Program Compliance Manager |
0911 | Bachelor of Science (Master’s degree may be preferred). Minimum 5 years QA experience. |
| Supervisory | Quality Control: Quality Control Supervisor Quality Assurance: Quality Assurance Supervisor, HACCP Coordinator, Quality Assurance Trainer |
9213 | Bachelor’s degree in Food Science and Technology or related disciplines. 2-5 years of experience in the food processing industry. |
| Intermediate | Quality Control: Quality Control Technician Quality Assurance: Quality Assurance Technician, Food Safety and Quality Assurance Technician, HACCP Technician, Quality Assurance Coordinator |
2211 | Degree or diploma in Food Science or related field. Experience in a food processing facility is an asset. |
| Foundational | Quality Control: Quality Control Inspector, Presenter/Detector, HIP (HACCP-Based Inspection Program) Technician, Quality Control Checker, Product Grader Quality Assurance: QA Inspector, QA Raw Materials Inspector, HACCP Assistant |
9465C, 2222 | High school diploma or equivalent. 1 year of experience in food processing and/or QA. |
6.2 MEAT AND POULTRY PROCESSING CAREER PROGRESSION
SUMMARY
Within the meat processing sector, the usual path for career progression involves starting at the Foundational or Intermediate level occupations and potentially moving up towards higher-skill and possibly Supervisory positions. Given that the clear majority of jobs in the industry are at the Foundational or Intermediate levels, many of the workers who remain in the industry will work at these levels, with a few moving into the higher-skill, Supervisory, and Management levels.
The meat processing sector occupations do intersect with the QC/QA occupations, where workers in higher-skill meat occupations could transition into a QC/QA occupation at the Foundational level. However, further advancement in the QC/QA stream would likely require additional educational requirements.
CONSIDERATIONS
The largest number of jobs in the industry are at the Foundational and Intermediate levels, which indicates that there will only be a proportion of workers who advance their way into Supervisory positions. However, progression in the industry does seem possible with low ratios of Foundational and Intermediate workers to higher levels. For example, in 2017, for every one Supervisor or Manager position, there are approximately five workers at the Foundational or Intermediate levels. Similarly, for every one Master Butcher or Specialized Cutter (higher levels), there were six workers at the Foundational or Intermediate level. This would indicate that there is considerable likelihood of progression from Foundational/Intermediate into some of the higher levels.
In interviews with Employers and Employees, it was noted that it could be challenging to fill Supervisory positions from the core staff. One reason provided was that the workers who had considerable experience and return for multiple seasons were not necessarily motivated to work in Supervisory positions. They were generally more comfortable in familiar jobs and positions and did not wish to be in a Supervisory role with
their coworkers. Another reason provided was that the amount of extra pay associated with Supervisory positions did not sufficiently compensate for the amount of extra stress that they associated with the job. This was noted particularly in the Poultry Processing sector.
ASSOCIATED RECOMMENDATIONS
- Support more systematic development of training materials, tools, and programs within the industry to enhance on-the-job training
- Industry learning/development programs (including some leading to a certificate)
- Sector employment opportunities awareness campaigns
The research found that typical career progression within the meat and poultry processing sector follows the sequential steps from foundational levels progressing to intermediate and higher skill levels with some then potentially moving into supervisory and management levels (see figure 6). From the interviews with plant managers and workers and the survey of establishments, the vast majority of the workforce is generally at the foundational and intermediate levels, with many of the core workers in this group having remained in these positions for decades. As a result, while this shows a potential career path, many workers entering the industry remain at a foundational/intermediate level; however, there is clearly considerable likelihood for progression into the higher levels as demonstrated through the relatively low ratios of foundational/intermediate workers to higher levels of occupations (e.g., 5:1 for supervisor/managers; 6:1 for master butcher/specialized cutter).
As the graphic illustrates (figure 6), workers within high skill level occupations (such as lead hand) may move to the quality control/quality assurance department and assume a role of quality control inspector. This position is still a production/processing line position, but the quality control inspector performs quality control tests and inspections on the processing line.
The intersection between the career ladder for meat and poultry processing occupations and those found in quality control/quality assurance is outlined in figure 6. Those entering the QA/QC occupations directly from industry are generally entering at a foundational level, while those entering with some relevant postsecondary training in food science or related areas will enter generally starting at the intermediate level.
7.0 SOURCES OF POTENTIAL WORKERS
The study examined multiple sources of potential workers for the meat and poultry processing industry taking into account various groups’ current representation in the sector’s workforce, their availability, as well as various opportunities and challenges that have been identified in recruiting greater numbers from these groups into the sector. The main groups of focus for the study included youth, unemployed workers, immigrants and temporary foreign workers, and Indigenous Canadians. Many of these groups are noted as overlapping (e.g., unemployed immigrant youth).
7.1 REGIONS’ LOCAL SOURCES OF LABOUR
SUMMARY
The industry is characterized by having a large number of small to medium-sized plants. If they are associated with a slaughter/abattoir facility, the location of the facility (particularly larger facilities) is often located in more rural or remote areas. For the rural/remote located facilities, this results in particularly small populations from which to draw an adequate labour force. For those facilities with more urban or suburban locations, there is often considerable competition from other sectors for the local labour pool. Reviewing the local regional sources of labour, it was noted that men play a significant role in the industry making up 66% of the workers in 2017.
CONSIDERATIONS
The geographic placement and dispersion of the numerous processing plants can produce challenges for obtaining an adequate local workforce as many of the plants are located in small towns in rural Canada. The continued demographic shift towards more urbanized settings and the consequential depopulation of parts of rural Canada increases the challenges in finding an adequate local workforce.
Employers expending the ongoing effort that is needed to continue to recruit and retain local labour forces should consider the specific needs and preferences of the available groups. Employers who have workforces that consist of large proportions of women may need to consider aspects such as childcare provision, school holidays and parental leave factors. Workforces made up of larger proportions of older workers may need additional considerations such as length of shifts, time off for medical appointments, provision of health benefits and transition into semi-retirement stages.
ASSOCIATED RECOMMENDATIONS
- Employing Temporary Foreign Workers
- Flexible Workplaces
- Support More Skilled Meat Cutters to Immigrate Permanently to Canada Through Changes to the NOC Coding System
- Focus on Permanent Pathways for Immigration
- Encourage Young Families to Remain or Relocate to Rural Communities
- First Nations Partnerships
- Sector Employment Opportunities Awareness Campaigns
- Regional Solutions
As noted in Section 3, the Canadian meat and poultry processing industry is characterized by having a relatively large number of small to medium plants, often located in more rural and semi-rural settings. The geographic locations and dispersion of plants are connected to the nature of the processing undertaken with those plants involving slaughtering or abattoir facilities generally further away from urban settings, compared with processing plants undertaking more secondary types of meat and poultry processing (e.g., sausage making, nuggets, cold cuts). In addition, the larger facilities tend to be located in more remote areas.
In only a few regions studied were there large meat or poultry processing plants within a traditional commute from a larger urban centre. As a result, many of the sector’s employers are located in regions that are experiencing population declines, and considerable demographic shifts as youth and young families are moving into more urban settings to pursue educational and employment opportunities. These ongoing shifts and changes make it particularly relevant to study the labour force at a relatively small, defined regional level in order to understand the actual labour sources available for local industry.
The detailed analysis of labour sources for the current study occurred primarily at the regional levels as specific supply and demand projections were developed for 14 regions across Canada. These results are presented in separate regional reports prepared for each region. In addition, through the survey of establishments and various interviews, some overall themes and findings on current labour sources more broadly emerged. These included:
- Reliance on older workers – One of the main labour sources for the industry is older workers (age 55+) who according to interviews with employers make up a significant proportion of the workforce. From interviews and site visits, most of the older workers have worked in the industry for many years, often with the same employer. There were many examples of workers well over the traditional retirement age of 65 years working in the plants. Employers noted in interviews that this group of older workers is often their “core workforce” who are dependable, assist in training and integrating new employees, and have adapted to the various changes in technology and processes that many of the plants have undertaken during their tenure as employees.
- Traditional local sources of labour are no longer available – From interviews with employers and workers during the site visits, they indicated that in many regions the traditional local sources of labour were no longer available and/or uninterested in working at the meat processing plants. With respect to local young men with more limited education who would have normally filled these types of positions 15 years ago, it was noted that there are far fewer of them looking for work in part due to lower unemployment rates, but also due to many more of them having obtained some type of post-secondary education. As a result, they are looking for different opportunities, and many of them have moved to more urban settings to pursue different types of job opportunities. Many of the workers interviewed indicated that they would not like to see their children work at the processing plant and would hope that their children would continue with their education and find other lines of work. This was despite them expressing relatively high levels of work satisfaction themselves.
- Heavy reliance on internal sourcing of supervisors and management – The source of workers for higher skill levels occupations is observed as matching very closely the career progression paths outlined previously in Section 4. During interviews and site visits, most of the supervisors and managers interviewed had “come up through the company” starting out on the plant floor as a labourer or on the processing line as a young employee. This included a wide range of management positions including human resources, marketing, operations and quality assurance.
7.2 YOUTH AS A LABOUR SOURCE
SUMMARY
The availability of youth as a labour source for the meat processing industry is decreasing as the proportion of the Canadian population under 25 is declining overall, youth unemployment rates continue to decline, youths’ participation in post-secondary education increases and youth move out of rural Canada (where many of the larger plants are located). Challenges identified in recruiting youth to work in the sector include students wishing to match summer employment with their career interests, their relatively limited knowledge and awareness of the sector, the working conditions that require physical labour, and increased employment opportunities for the youth (as reflected in lower unemployment rates).
CONSIDERATIONS
Youth is continuing to be a challenging segment of the labour force for the meat processing sector to successfully recruit and retain. Some of these challenges are related to the trends of greater participation in post-secondary education by youth, along with an overall decrease in the youth unemployment trends and increased urbanization of youth as they move out of rural Canada where many of the processing plants are currently located. Where there has been some success in the recruitment and retainment of youth is by focusing on youth who are having challenges making successful transitions into the labour market due to various barriers (e.g., lower levels of education, lack of work experience, appearance/attitude issues). In some examples, this is viewed by the youth as an employer who is “willing to take a chance on me.” They are provided with extra support and training, along with coaching, and there are some examples where they are now working in supervisory positions. Other approaches that hold some promise in retaining youth are trying to adopt a “gaming environment” to lines with an emphasis on ongoing performance feedback, adapting the production line to allow music to be played, and “phone breaks.” Given the lower barriers and entry requirements
for the industry, the meat processing sector may be a good fit for youth who are experiencing significant employment barriers. This type of initiative would need to be implemented with the proper supports but could extend to community/training agencies working with at-risk youth on essential skills and employment-readiness training, which then transition into supported work placements with meat processing employers. This would require the development of partnerships between the sector’s employers and youth-serving agencies to ensure ongoing support of youth as they transition between skills training and work placements in the industry.
ASSOCIATED RECOMMENDATIONS
- Regional Solutions
- Engaging Effectively with Groups Experiencing Low Labour Market Participation
- Support More Systematic Development of Training Materials, Tools and Programs Within the Industry to Enhance On-The-Job Training
- Industry Learning/Development Programs (including some leading to a certificate)
7.2.1 Current representation of youth in the meat and poultry processing workforce
Although not directly measured on the survey of establishments, the proportion of youth currently in the industry appears to be somewhat variable according to region and plant. Overall, the industry workforce is aging with employers indicating greater challenges in recruiting and retaining youth in the industry resulting in proportionally fewer youth becoming engaged with the industry.
7.2.2 Availability of youth as a labour source
- Youth employment is challenging to generalize given the various nuances and broad scope of issues combined with the diversity of youth as they make various transitions. Combined with the regional considerations with the labour market, the analysis of youth as a labour source would be most accurate at the regional level for the meat and poultry processing industry. That being said, some of the main themes and issues regarding youth availability highlighted by the study results included:
- Declining youth unemployment rates – Recently, the Canada youth unemployment rate had reached a 40-year low at 10.3% (December 2017) compared with rates in the 1980s in the 20%+ range. While still generally higher than for the working age population overall, youth unemployment rates have continued a relatively steady downward trend. This indicates that for the meat and poultry processing industry, hiring youth has become increasingly competitive as employers from various sectors are attempting to hire the same group.
- Increased education levels in the youth cohort – Participation rates in post-secondary education continue to increase among the youth cohort resulting in higher education levels among youth compared to other age groups. Given the occupational structure of the meat and poultry processing industry, the majority of the positions are targeted towards a lower-skill level with many positions not requiring any specific educational requirements. This is a mismatch with the increasing proportion of youth who are pursuing post-secondary studies contributing to the challenge of identifying many within the youth group as a viable labour source for the industry.
- Urbanization of youth – As noted previously, there is a continued trend towards youth and young families leaving rural settings and moving into more urban areas. Part of this is likely related to the need to often move to urban settings to pursue post-secondary studies, combined with the availability of employment opportunities within selected career paths, ease of school-to-work transitions, and a generally more mobile generation with greater opportunities for travel and networking across geographical boundaries. As a result, there are fewer youth in many of the rural communities than previously, and those who do remain have more choices regarding employment.
7.2.3 Opportunities for engaging youth as a labour source
According to interviews with employers, some of the success they have had in recruiting local youth has been related to their willingness to hire and support youth who have experienced various challenges in making successful attachments to the labour market. These may include the more at-risk youth populations who have had fewer opportunities than many other youth to continue with their education, gain essential skills, and learn about the world of work through meaningful work experiences. There were various examples in the case studies at either an individual level or more organized group level where employers had made a concerted effort to hire, connect with, and support marginalized youth. When speaking with youth who had benefitted from these types of supports, they noted aspects such as “this was the first employer who took a chance on me”, or an employer who “saw past my exterior and gave me a chance to work”. In some cases, these youth went on to develop into supervisory positions at the facilities.
Other opportunities that employers noted were available to engage youth with employment at the plants were often through summer student positions. These often were filled by regular employees’ children and relatives, allowing them to be exposed to the nature of the work at the plant and the diversity of jobs and careers available.
7.2.4 Challenges in engaging youth as a labour source
Many of the challenges experienced by the meat and poultry processing industry engaging with youth are with respect to their decreasing availability for these types of job opportunities. The declining number of youth within the communities that are within commuting distance of plants is a large challenge. Other challenges noted in interviews included:
- Matching summer employment with career interests – Many youth are working towards some sort of post-secondary certification or degree. In most cases, students are now viewing their summer employment as an opportunity to find career-related work experience, even though it may pay less than seasonal opportunities in other sectors. This focus on résumé building very early in careers can present challenges in the availability of a student workforce for more lower-skill, labour-intensive summer work opportunities. As well, there are increasingly more post-secondary programs that have “co-op” placements as employment portions of programs, which in turn decreases the number of students that are looking for more traditional non-career-related summer employment opportunities.
- Increasing number of local opportunities for youth – As youth become a smaller source of labour, those who are locally available are often experiencing an increasing number of opportunities for employment, as evidenced by the decreasing youth unemployment rate in many regions. Given some of the challenges with perceptions of meat and poultry processing along with other challenges related to working conditions (environment, repetitiveness), employers participating in interviews indicate that it is getting increasingly challenging to identify local youth to hire and hopefully join (and eventually replace) the aging “core group” of employees.
7.3 UNEMPLOYED WORKERS AS A LABOUR SOURCE
SUMMARY
Most of the jobs in the industry (80%) are permanent full-time positions. Unlike seasonal industries, there is not a pool of unemployed workers already aligned with the industry (such as seafood processing), that are essentially unemployed while waiting to be called back to work. Much of the beef industry is located in the western provinces, which have recently experienced relatively lower rates of unemployment resulting in lower numbers of unemployed workers as a labour source. The recent downturn in the oil and gas sector reportedly did provide a larger potential source of unemployed workers, but challenges in recruiting from this sector included the high level of wage disparity between the two sectors (so wage expectations were challenging to meet) and the large differences in the nature of the work. Southern Ontario also has a high proportion of meat processors where the competition for labour remains very high with lower levels of unemployment.
CONSIDERATIONS
Unemployment levels are relatively low in the regions where much of the sector is located. As a result, unemployed workers as an overall source may be challenging.
ASSOCIATED RECOMMENDATIONS
- First Nations Partnerships
- Sector Employment Opportunities Awareness Campaigns
- Support More Skilled Meat Cutters to Immigrate Permanently to Canada Through Changes to the NOC Coding System
- Focus on Permanent Pathways for Immigration
- Employing Temporary Foreign Workers
7.3.1 Availability of unemployed workers as a labour source
As noted in the survey of meat and poultry processors, the vast majority of the jobs are permanent full-time positions with very little seasonality in employment levels. As a result, unemployed workers are not a key source for meat and poultry processing sector compared with seasonal industries which often access large pools of reserve labour to meet peak employment requirements in various sectors (e.g., seafood processing, construction, tourism, agriculture).
7.3.2 Challenges in engaging unemployed workers as a labour source
Employment Insurance (EI) beneficiaries are commonly cited as an available pool of labour for employers. It is important to note that differences in seasonal demands between sectors and of individual employers contribute to the significant number of EI beneficiaries over the year. Recruiting workers receiving EI benefits with established patterns of seasonal work with individual employers poses significant challenges, especially if the work pays higher wages such as construction or certain service sector jobs. This pool also includes apprentices in the skilled trades attending in-school apprenticeship training who are not available to the labour force. Individuals who receive special benefits to take time off work due to specific life events (illness; pregnancy; caring for a newborn or newly adopted child etc.) are also not available.
7.4 IMMIGRANTS AND TEMPORARY FOREIGN WORKERS AS A LABOUR SOURCE
SUMMARY
One in ten workers in the current workforce in meat processing in Canada is a new immigrant or refugees (10%). This is significantly higher than the overall Canadian proportion of 3.5% in 2016. Approximately 3.0% of the workforce are temporary foreign workers, and a similar proportion (3.5% is involved with the Provincial Nominee Program). In 2016 and 2017, there were approximately 1,500 temporary foreign workers approved for employment with Canadian meat processors. Current challenges in engaging immigrants as a labour source for the sector have been related to the willingness of established immigrants to live and work in the rural communities in which plants are located. The challenges related to the Temporary Foreign Worker program have been related primarily to the costs of applying to the program, challenges with developing the required Labour Market Impact Assessments, and the limitations placed on the number of TFWs allowed.
CONSIDERATIONS
Under the current immigration pathways available in many provinces, it can be challenging for immigrants to come to Canada on a permanent pathway as a meat or poultry processing worker (and in particular the highly sought after industrial meat cutters). This is largely due to the lower-skill level classifications of the occupations involved. Considerable discussion during interviews was related to the challenges with NOC codes that place industrial meat cutters in a “C” level (this is the occupation for which there is a large demand and considerable challenges in recruiting). This code has the impact of eliminating many skilled international meat cutters from entering Canada on permanent pathways that support only skilled occupations currently classified at A or B levels. What was often cited as a challenge and unfair was that retail butchers (vs. industrial butchers) enjoy a higher level skill code, while the changing
nature of the business is such that many of the retail butchering tasks have moved into the plant (and no longer exist at many retail outlets). So industrial butchers are now responsible for preparation of case-ready product which is actually prepared, packed, sealed and labelled in the plant (rather than the retail butcher).
ASSOCIATED RECOMMENDATIONS
- Support More Skilled Meat Cutters to Immigrate Permanently to Canada Through Changes to the NOC Coding System
- Focus on Permanent Pathways for Immigration
7.4.1 Current representation of immigrants and temporary
foreign workers in the meat processing workforce
According to the survey of establishments, approximately 10% of their workforce is composed of new immigrants or refugees, which is proportionally higher than the overall Canadian profile of 3.5% recent immigrants and refugees. This indicates that the Canadian meat and poultry industry has a substantial labour contribution from recent immigrants. In addition to immigrants and refugees, employers reported that their workforce consists of an additional 3.5% of workers who are currently associated with the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), and 3.0% of their workforce consists of Temporary Foreign Workers. According to data provided by ESDC, there were approximately 1,500 positions approved for the meat processing industry across two years (2016-2017).
7.4.2 Availability of immigrants and temporary foreign workers
as a labour source
The availability of immigrants to work in the industry is connected to overall immigration policy and decisions on areas of priority for immigration. Similarly, the availability of TFWs is reliant upon the federal TFWP’s structure and policies. The potential supply of immigrants and TFWs for the Canadian meat and poultry processing sector is extremely high as based on the eagerness with which many foreign workers apply to the limited positions available in Canada. Accessing this supply is then contingent on the priorities, programs and policies put in place by federal and provincial governments.
7.4.3 Challenges in engaging immigrants and temporary foreign
workers as a labour source
Current challenges in engaging immigrants as a labour source for the sector have been related to the willingness of established immigrants to live and work in the rural communities in which plants are located. The services and supports for immigrants can be somewhat less compared to what might be received in larger urban centres. As well, some employers seem to have minimal connections between themselves and relevant community organizations working with recent immigrants. In contrast, there are other employers who view community organizations as key partners in identifying new employees and supporting their current employees who are recent immigrants.
7.5 INDIGENOUS CANADIANS AS A LABOUR SOURCE
SUMMARY
From the data obtained, Indigenous Canadians appear to be underrepresented in the meat and poultry processing sector with employers indicating approximately 1.3% of their workforce identifying as Indigenous compared with an overall population in the 4.9% range for Canada with considerable variation between provinces (2% to 18%).
While there are a few examples where industry has worked extensively and productively with Indigenous communities to engage the leadership and individual community members in partnerships in training programs and facilities and as employees, in general, there appears to be a lack of knowledge among processors of the local Indigenous communities as a potential supply of workers. Some attempts have been made to recruit Indigenous workers with limited results.
CONSIDERATIONS
The extent to which Indigenous communities will become more involved in meat and poultry processing will depend on the communities and their proximity to the existing plants. Developing an understanding of how various factors can detract or contribute to greater engagement of local Indigenous communities as a labour source for processing plants will need to continue. Some areas requiring further exploration are: understanding the potential Indigenous local labour force available (e.g., labour market information and skills inventories), economic and development priorities of Indigenous communities as they pertain
to meat processing and potential support enterprises, and the support required from both the community and employers to obtain positive results in the areas of training, recruitment, and retention of Indigenous employees.
ASSOCIATED RECOMMENDATIONS
First Nations Partnerships
7.5.1 Current representation of Indigenous Canadians
in the meat processing workforce
According to the survey of establishments, Indigenous Canadians make up approximately 1.3% of the meat and poultry processing workforce in Canada. This indicates that Indigenous Canadians are underrepresented in the industry given that those who indicate having an Aboriginal identify according to Census 2016 definitions is at approximately 4.9% overall with provinces ranging from 2% (PEI) to 18% (MB). Employers in interviews indicated that they generally do not track Indigenous identity or status among their employees so that the survey result may be an underestimation.
7.5.2 Opportunities and challenges in engaging
Indigenous Canadians as a labour source
In some regions, there is ongoing collaboration between meat and poultry processors and local Indigenous communities to identify and support Indigenous workers in the industry. For example, one plant indicated that they work closely with a local Indigenous community where they have been supportive of the community’s efforts to develop a meat cutting training facility and program. The plant communicates regularly with the leadership and employment centre in the community to help in identifying potential workers, provide feedback where additional supports are needed for workers, and explore other areas of potential collaboration and partnerships.
In interviews and site visits it was noted that some of the challenges employers encounter in this area is a lack of knowledge about local Indigenous communities and possible labour sources available along with any required supports to assist in recruiting this group. Overall, there was a lack of labour market information on the Indigenous labour pool for most communities.
8.0 CURRENT AND FUTURE LABOUR DEMAND VS. SUPPLY
SUMMARY
Overall, the hiring requirements for workers in the Canadian meat processing industry are expected to amount to approximately 32,000 workers over the 2018 to 2030 period. This equates to approximately 55% of the current average workforce of 58,000 (2017). This hiring requirement of approximately 2,500 workers on average per year is due to the replacement of anticipated retirements over this period while considering projected industry growth and labour productivity gains.
Unfortunately, this recruitment will be occurring within the context of very tight regional labour markets that are currently experiencing labour shortages and which are predicted to continue during this period. This tightness in the labour market is contributing to the high number of current vacancies experienced by employers in meat processing (estimated at 12% or 7,300 positions in 2016) and, to some degree, the higher turnover rates in the industry as workers have more employment opportunities from which to choose, particularly in the lower-skill level occupations (estimated imputed turnover rate of 41% for Canada in the meat processing industry).
All of these factors contribute to the substantial challenges facing Canadian meat processors in their attempts to recruit enough workers to replace retirements, fill ongoing vacancies, work to address turnover rates, while also trying to grow, remain competitive, and increase productivity.
CONSIDERATIONS
Many of the regions studied are operating in local labour markets where the supply is insufficient to meet the local industry’s labour needs. While there are opportunities to more aggressively target the local workforce (e.g., substantial wage hikes, changes to working conditions), this would ultimately only shift shortages to other sectors within the region. In many areas, there are simply too few people to meet the overall local employment requirements.
A multi-pronged approach is likely required to address these complex and challenging issues. Given this situation, employers have limited options. They can attempt to bring in more workers through regional relocation or temporary foreign worker programs. They can also modify processes to reduce labour requirements through automation and technological advancements. Alternatively, they may choose to relocate processing plants closer to areas with more readily available labour sources.
For communities and local agencies, options are also limited. They can focus on developing their communities to retain current residents and attract new ones, thereby maintaining or potentially growing the population and labour force. Additionally, they can support employers in bringing in temporary workers, such as through regional relocation initiatives and temporary foreign worker programs, recognizing that these efforts help sustain employment opportunities for local
residents (avoidance of plant closures) and in some cases may increase the population as temporary/relocated workers consider more permanent stays if possible.
Areas in which governments can potentially act include considering the impacts on labour availability as a result of their choices in various areas in which they support local industry and communities on various levels. These include a wide breadth of areas such as R&D funding, assistance with marketing exports, immigration policies, EI policies, rural development initiatives, post-secondary education support, employment-related training, childcare support, and many other areas.
ASSOCIATED RECOMMENDATIONS
- Employing Temporary Foreign Workers
- Flexible Workplaces
- Support More Skilled Meat Cutters To Immigrate Permanently To Canada Through Changes To The Noc Coding System
- Focus On Permanent Pathways For Immigration
- Encourage Young Families To Remain Or Relocate To Rural Communities
- Engaging Effectively With Groups Experiencing Low Labour Market Participation
- First Nations Partnerships
A primary focus of the current study was to assess the current and future labour demand and supply for the meat processing industry. This was completed for Canada overall, at the provincial level and for 14 identified smaller regions. The models used to estimate demand and supply took into account various factors outlined in Section 3 such as trade agreements, economic outlooks, consumption, exports and productivity
8.1 DEMAND FOR WORKERS IN THE CANADIAN MEAT PROCESSING INDUSTRY
Overall, the hiring requirements for workers in the meat processing industry is expected to amount to approximately 32,000 workers over the 2018 to 2030 period. This equates with approximately 55% of the currently employed workforce of 58,000 (2017). This hiring requirement of approximately 2,460 workers on average per year is due to the replacement of anticipated retirements over this period while considering projected industry growth and labour productivity gains.
8.1.1 Demand attributable to growth and productivity
Based on the global and domestic economic environment and assumptions made about other key determinants, average annual meat processing employment is expected to surpass 60,000 by 2020. moderate growth in domestic consumption, led by poultry and lamb products alongside robust international export growth, is expected to contribute to moderate average annual employment growth of approximately 1% per year between 2020 and 2030 (see table 6).
| CANADA | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | ANNUAL AVG 2020 TO 2025 | ANNUAL AVG 2026 TO 2030 | CHANGE 2018-2030 # | CHANGE 2018 – 2030 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Employment | 57,160 | 57,962 | 58,435 | 59,378 | 60,169 | 61,910 | 64,862 | 8,094 | 14% |
| FOUNDATIONAL (NOC 9617) | |||||||||
| Production Labourer (Processor, Packer, Barn Worker) | 13,377 | 13,564 | 13,678 | 13,917 | 14,111 | 14,547 | 15,300 | 2,046 | 15% |
| Poultry Production Labourer (Plant Worker, Poultry Worker, General Labourer) | 4,497 | 4,593 | 4,635 | 4,690 | 4,750 | 4,873 | 5,054 | 526 | 11% |
| INTERMEDIATE (NOC 9462;9641) | |||||||||
| General Meat Cutter or Knife Person/Poultry Cutter | 5,496 | 5,558 | 5,605 | 5,703 | 5,781 | 5,958 | 6,261 | 826 | 15% |
| Slaughter Person | 2,437 | 2,494 | 2,522 | 2,582 | 2,629 | 2,741 | 2,933 | 521 | 21% |
| Machine Operator (Including Saw Operator) | 3,050 | 3,088 | 3,106 | 3,143 | 3,176 | 3,237 | 3,346 | 301 | 10% |
| HIGH (NOC 9213) | |||||||||
| Master Butcher, Expertise in Multiple Cuts | 1,285 | 1,316 | 1,327 | 1,345 | 1,363 | 1,398 | 1,455 | 162 | 12% |
| Specialized Cutter, Expertise in One Cut | 3,524 | 3,569 | 3,606 | 3,693 | 3,757 | 3,913 | 4,186 | 733 | 21% |
| SUPERVISORY (NOC 9213) | |||||||||
| Supervisors (Kill Floor Supervisor, Abattoir Supervisor, Production Supervisor, Raw Room Supervisor) | 2,532 | 2,564 | 2,583 | 2,623 | 2,656 | 2,726 | 2,846 | 331 | 13% |
| MANAGEMENT (NOC 0911) | |||||||||
| Management (Plant Manager, Director of Operations, Sales, Kill Floor Manager, Food Safety Managers) | 3,092 | 3,139 | 3,162 | 3,206 | 3,245 | 3,325 | 3,460 | 375 | 12% |
| OTHER CATEGORIES | |||||||||
| Quality Control Technician | 434 | 437 | 439 | 444 | 449 | 458 | 472 | 41 | 9% |
| Maintenance (Janitors, Sanitation Workers, Cleaners) | 1,825 | 1,842 | 1,856 | 1,884 | 1,909 | 1,964 | 2,056 | 250 | 14% |
| Skilled Trades (Millwright, Industrial Electrician, Truck Driver) | 4,871 | 4,941 | 4,981 | 5,060 | 5,128 | 5,275 | 5,525 | 686 | 14% |
| Office Staff | 4,543 | 4,588 | 4,618 | 4,681 | 4,735 | 4,847 | 5,037 | 525 | 11% |
| Other Occupations* | 6,196 | 6,269 | 6,317 | 6,405 | 6,482 | 6,648 | 6,926 | 772 | 11% |
8.1.2 Hiring requirements
Hiring requirements consider both industry growth as well as demand for workers to replace workers who have retired or died. as noticed in the previous section, the net hiring requirements due to growth in the period between 2018 and 2030 are estimated to be 32,273 workers (see table 6). of considerably greater magnitude is the hiring requirements attributable to replacement demands (deaths and retirements). given the sector’s aging workforce, these requirements are substantial and are expected to total 24,178 over the 2018 to 2030 time period. in the short term, this includes a pressing 5,114 between 2018 and 2020. taking into account the requirements due to the expected growth, it is estimated that the industry will need to replace 32,273 workers during the 2018 to 2030 period which is equivalent to over one half (55%) of the current workforce. as of 2020, this requirement will translate to approximately 2,600 new hires on an annual basis (see figure 8). it must be noted that these hiring requirements do not include many of the new hires that are required due to turnover or the attempts to fill current vacancies. to provide some context, the imputed annual turnover rate for canadian meat processors was estimated at approximately 41% based on the results from the survey of establishments. in addition, the industry reported via the survey that they are currently attempting to find a sufficient number of workers to fill a large number of current vacancies in the industry (estimated at approximately 12% of positions or the need for 7,300 workers).
8.2 SUPPLY OF WORKERS: THE CANADIAN WORKFORCE
To meet the anticipated hiring demands or requirements outlined in the previous section, meat processing employers will need to compete with both other meat processors in addition to various employers in other industries.
When examined within the context of Canada’s workforce, this task will be made more challenging given the anticipated decline in the unemployment rate caused by the aging of Canada’s labour force and related declines in workforce participation.
Employment growth is expected to average close to 0.8% per year between 2018 and 2030, slowing over the latter part of the decade (see Figure 9). The labour force is expected to grow at a slightly slower pace of 0.7% per year. This causes the anticipated average rate of unemployment for the overall workforce to decline from 6.5% in 2017 to just over 5.5% by 2030. Recruitment is also likely to become increasingly difficult due to the falling number and proportion of young people (aged 35 and under) available to enter the workforce.
8.2.1 Canadian Meat and Poultry Processing Workforce
The share of the labour force available to meat and poultry processors depends on numerous factors including competing demands from other industries, patterns of regional migration, and the alignment between skills and qualifications. Skills and qualifications are an especially important determinant of available supply for the sector. Lower-skilled production-level workers, not requiring specialized qualifications, make up almost half (46%) of the employed meat processing workforce. This excludes the specialized meat cutters and master butchers who hone specialized skills through experience and on-the-job training. With fewer skill or qualification barriers for production-level jobs, workers are more mobile between various employers, jobs, and industries in a particular region (or labour market) compared to those with qualifications in a specific field (e.g. electricians, accountants, nurses). The competition for this lower-skill pool of labour often comes down to wages, working conditions, and alignment between work environment and worker preference. Individuals with higher education qualifications tend to be less likely to consider permanent lower-skill production-level jobs and may prefer temporary service sector jobs, even at lower hourly wage rates. The availability of supply for this category of workers, measured by rates of unemployment, tends to be determined by overall labour market conditions in a particular region rather than any individual sector.
8.2.2 Evidence of labour market challenges
Insights from the survey of meat processors found that over half (55%) of Canada’s meat processors report not being able to fill positions or experience chronic recruitment challenges (see figure 10). One-in-five (22%) reported not being able to fill positions, resulting in an estimated 7,300 positions going unfilled over the previous year (2016). A further third (33%) of employers reported experiencing chronic, ongoing recruitment challenges. Finally, an additional 21% reported experiencing some form of seasonal challenges recruiting or retaining qualified workers. Recruitment of meat cutters and butchers was cited in interviews and on the survey as problematic across most regions of Canada.
Low levels of retention and high turnover provide further evidence of labour market challenges faced by meat processors. Meat processors hired an estimated 24,500 workers over the past year according to the survey of establishments. Compared to average annual employment this represents an imputed 41% overall turnover rate in the industry. In other words, on average, industry must hire 1.4 workers for every open position. The turnover rates are reported as highest for poultry slaughterers (96%), machine operators (62%), animal handlers (53%), and production labourers (53%) (see figure 11).
8.2.3 Decreasing Supply of Lower Skill Level Workforce
Another challenge faced by meat processors is the decreasing supply of workers with lower levels of educational attainment. The meat processing industry employs a broad spectrum of trades and occupations with a broad range of skills and qualifications. However, the industry employs a much higher proportion of production level workers who do not tend to require specific education requirements compared to many other industries. Figure 12 compares the share of the workforce with a college, university or trades certificate in the meat processing industry to the all-industry average across individual provinces. Nationally, the proportion of the meat processing workforce with an education above secondary (high) school is 39%, compared to a 63% overall (all industry). Rising levels of educational attainment among youth have caused this pool of workers with no post-secondary qualifications to shrink relative to the overall labour force over time.
8.2.4 Competition from other sectors – wages
As the labour market tightens, competition for other sectors increases. One factor among others that can influence the competition from other sectors are wages in addition to various other factors including working conditions, seasonality and perceptions of the industry. Examining national-level data, it appears that despite recent increases, production labourers in the meat processing sector have lower hourly wages when compared with labourers in other sectors (see figure 13). A comparison of average hourly wages at the national level suggests food production labourers (NOC 9617) with an average hourly wage of $13.90 tend to earn less compared to other lower skill level occupations and other industries in general. Industrial meat cutters and butchers who work in meat processing and require training and/or experience, earn more on average compared to general labourers, but less than many other production level occupations with low qualification requirements in other segments of manufacturing and other industries. This suggests regions with a high concentration of construction, advanced manufacturing, mining, forestry or oil and gas employment present particular sources of competition for workers.
From the survey of establishments, the average hourly wages for meat and poultry processing labourers were reported slightly higher with an average starting wage of $14.95 and top hourly average wage of $19.14 (see figure 14).
8.2.5 Summary of Measures of Meat Processing Workforce Availability – Regional Labour Market Tightness
The primary challenge of quantifying the supply of workers available to meet the meat processing sector demand is delineating the meat labour force from other industries. This is especially difficult for production level workers with no tracked skills or qualifications to attach them to a specific sector other than experience. This makes it difficult to discern and measure any differences between worker availability and labour market conditions in one industry from another.
The method adopted in this analysis is a residual labour supply approach, which estimates the potential labour supply left for meat processors once demands of other industries are met at their respective normal rates of unemployment. The interpretation of the analysis is that if the potential residual labour supply meets estimated meat processing demand requirements, then there is a sufficient number of workers in the local labour to meet meat processor demands. However, there is no guarantee that meat processors are actually able to attract and employ all of the workforce in this pool. Conversely, if meat processing demands exceed the potential residual labour supply, this signals that to meet demands, workers will likely have to be attracted from outside the local labour market or from other industries drawing unemployment below normal rates.
To account for the meat processing sector’s higher dependence on lower-skilled production labour, the residual labour supply estimates were adjusted for educational attainment. This analysis estimated current and future employment requirements for workers with educational attainment of high school or below in competing industries to determine the residual labour supply. This assumed a constant workforce education attainment profile for individual industries. This estimated lower-skill production workforce residual labour supply was then compared to meat processing lower-skill production worker employment requirements.
Given the analysis depends on local labour market data, each analysis was conducted at the regional level (see regional reports for specific details for each region). Overall, the analysis indicated that eight of the fourteen regions studied in-depth, were facing very tight labour markets where the current or projected demand for workers (total and lower skill level) from the regional industries was higher than the existing local labour market (see table 7). This would indicate that in these regions studied, the meat processing employers were faced with an insufficient local labour supply to meet all of the region’s labour requirements (for all industries) leaving an overall potential gap which increases during peak periods. This trend for these regions continues all the way through to 2030.
The common factor for those regions that were noted as not being in a tight labour market was that they are located in or near a large urban center (e.g., Vancouver, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary).
Within this very tight, competitive labour market, it was generally determined that the industry employers have had some success recruiting as evidenced by employers being able to recruit in numbers that exceeded the residual labour force. This means that the meat processing industry was likely recruiting workers from other industries, while potentially also recruiting workers from outside the local region. While the industry did experience vacancies, these would likely have been substantially higher had it not been successful in recruiting labour external to the region, and/or competing with other industries in recruiting workers.
| Region | Total Labour Force | Lower Skill-Level Labour Force | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |
| Brandon, Manitoba | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Brooks, Alberta | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Saint-Esprit, Quebec | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Wynyard, Saskatchewan | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Kings Country, Nova Scotia | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Levis, Quebec | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Chilliwack, British Columbia | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Guelph, Ontario | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| High River, Alberta | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Langley, British Columbia | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Toronto, Ontario | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Hamilton, Ontario | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Winnipeg, Manitoba | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
1 = Meat processing employment demand is less than 50% of regional labour force at annual average employment levels
2 = Meat processing employment demand is between 50 and 100% of regional labour force at annual average employment levels
3 = Meat processing employment demand is greater than 100% of regional labour force at annual average employment level
Provincial level overviews of supply and demand are presented in Appendix C to Appendix J.
9.0 PERCEPTIONS OF WORKING IN MEAT & POULTRY PROCESSING
SUMMARY
According to the Choicebook™ survey, the audiences identified as targets are significantly more open than members of the general public to consider working in the meat and seafood processing sector. This is especially true of new Canadians; the keenest of the four segments.
Among the most common perceptions of employment in meat and seafood processing are that jobs are located in rural locations, offered right out of school and do not always require specific education.
The most significant perceptual challenges are the seasonal nature of the jobs, the killing of animals, the presence of strong odours and the physical nature of the work. The most compelling result of the Choicebook™ survey is the significant increase in the proportion of respondents who say they would consider a job in the sector by end of the survey (as compared to when they began it). For the general public, the increase is 8 percentage points. The corresponding increases for youth, Indigenous Canadians and the unemployed are essentially the same at between 7 to 9 percentage points. For new Canadians, however, the increase reaches 14 percentage points.
CONSIDERATIONS
The research suggests that providing people with factual information about employment in the sector has a positive impact on their willingness to consider working in it.
The combination of low awareness levels about employment in the sector and relative open-mindedness about the topic suggests that there is potential to increase the labour pool through communications across all four targeted audiences, but most notably among new Canadians.
In terms of inducements and messaging, analysis reveals that the information with the strongest positive impact on one’s willingness to work in the sector are offers of: performance bonuses, retention bonuses, predictable full-time work, transportation to and from work. For the youth segment, offering to cover tuition and school supplies is also a key driver.
ASSOCIATED RECOMMENDATIONS
- Sector employment opportunities awareness campaigns
- Examine reasons for the low levels of enrollment in existing training for meat cutting and butcher programs
- Support more systematic development of training materials, tools, and programs within the industry to enhance on-the-job training
- Industry learning/development programs (including some leading to a certificate)
According to interviews with plant managers, employees, and other industry stakeholders, the significant challenges employers have been facing with respect to recruiting a sufficient workforce for the meat and poultry processing industry is in part related to the current perceptions of the industry among the general public as well as target audiences for recruitment efforts (e.g., youth, Indigenous people, new Canadians, unemployed workers). One component of the current study was to examine in detail the actual perceptions of these groups focusing on areas such as awareness of the industry, including employment advantages and challenges, and gauging level of willingness to consider employment opportunities in the sector.
Choicebook™ was the method used to gain a better understanding of perceptions of the industry, which involves audience input based on in-depth consideration and engaging experiences. This method measures deep-rooted perspectives by providing participants with key information before posing questions, including background, facts, scenarios, and data. Choicebook™ insights provide actionable data about how to move forward with initiatives, and how audiences can be best informed to increase alignment, participation, and collaboration.
Overall, 1,248 participated from the general public and an additional 2,089 from the four target audiences: 972 from the youth audience, 506 from the Indigenous Canadian audience, 500 new Canadians and 1,205 of the unemployed audience. Due to the nature of these audiences, there was some overlap between them.
An overview of the findings is provided in this section, according to overall awareness of the meat and seafood processing sector, the advantages and challenges of working in the sector and the likelihood of applying to work in the sector.
9.1. FAMILIARITY AND IMPRESSIONS OF MEAT AND SEAFOOD PROCESSING SECTOR
Overall, there tended to be higher levels of familiarity with the broader food and beverage manufacturing sector when compared to the more specific meat and seafood manufacturing sector (see table 8). Additionally, most of the target audiences were more likely to indicate higher levels of familiarity with the sectors compared to the general public. Among the target audiences, approximately one-quarter report relatively high familiarity with the meat and seafood manufacturing sectors (23% to 26%). This suggests that there is potential to develop higher levels of familiarity with the sectors, not only among the general public but also within the target audiences.
| GROUP | FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANUFACTURING SECTOR | MEAT AND SEAFOOD MANUFACTURING SECTOR | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| “very familiar” (5 RATING) | higher familiarity (5 & 4 RATING) | “very familiar” (5 RATING) | higher familiarity (5 & 4 RATING) | |
| General Public | 8% | 24% | 4% | 16% |
| Youth | 13% | 36% | 8% | 26% |
| Indigenous | 17% | 37% | 12% | 26% |
| New Canadians | 14% | 33% | 6% | 23% |
| Unemployed | 15% | 35% | 10% | 26% |
Source: Labour Market Information: Key Audience ChoicebookTM
When participants were asked if they had a more positive or negative impression of jobs in the sectors, the most frequent ratings among all groups was neutral (3 on a 5-point scale ranging from very negative (1) to very positive (5)). This may be linked to the lower levels of familiarity with the sectors as outlined above. Overall, among all groups, the impressions of jobs in the sector were more positive than negative (see Table 9) once the larger neutral responses were considered. This pattern of positive impressions was also demonstrated when participants were asked to select various characteristics to describe the sectors. More positive descriptors (e.g., happy workforce, innovative, high pay) were more frequently selected than the countering negative descriptors (e.g., unhappy workforce, not innovative, low pay). There was a trend among the target audiences to report more frequently positive impressions of jobs in the sectors (both food and beverage manufacturing and meat and seafood) (see Table 9).
| GROUP | FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANUFACTURING SECTOR | MEAT AND SEAFOOD MANUFACTURING SECTOR | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| “very familiar” (5 RATING) | higher familiarity (5 & 4 RATING) | “very familiar” (5 RATING) | higher familiarity (5 & 4 RATING) | |
| General Public | 8% | 31% | 9% | 28% |
| Youth | 11% | 34% | 10% | 30% |
| Indigenous | 16% | 38% | 14% | 34% |
| New Canadians | 11% | 37% | 11% | 31% |
| Unemployed | 16% | 39% | 13% | 34% |
9.2 ADVANTAGES AND CHALLENGES IN THE SECTOR
One main component of the Choicebook™ exercise was to understand how aware participants were of specific advantages and challenges of jobs in the Meat and Seafood Manufacturing sectors, as well as how important these selected advantages and challenges were when they are considering employment opportunities in the sectors. In addition, participants were asked to rate the believability of the information about specific advantages.
The eight job advantages selected to highlight include:
- Jobs are located in rural locations across the country, including near a number of reserves
- The sector offers jobs right out of school
- The jobs do not always require specific education/post-secondary education
- Jobs are currently available across the country
- The sectors offer a wide range of jobs (e.g., engineers, managers, plant workers)
- The sectors offer opportunities for skills training
- Jobs allow for career progression
- The sectors offer competitive pay and benefits
The seven job challenges selected to highlight include:
- Meat and Seafood Manufacturing involves animals being killed
- Some of these jobs involve working in environments with strong odours
- Some of these jobs require physical work
- Seafood Manufacturing jobs are seasonal and do not always offer employment year-round
- Jobs are often located outside cities or near rural communities
- Seafood Manufacturing jobs are mostly located in Eastern Canada
- Seafood Manufacturing jobs can be unpredictable and require short notice
9.2.1 Youth Perspectives on Job Advantages and Challenges
Considerable efforts are required when reviewing the results from the perspective of youth on the advantages and challenges characteristic of the Meat and Seafood Manufacturing sector (see Table 7 & 8). The pattern of results overall indicates the following:
- Awareness of challenges tends to be higher than awareness of advantages. Only one-third to one-half (34% to 47%) of youth indicate high awareness of the advantages of jobs in the sectors. This would indicate that the sector would need to focus on getting the word out more clearly on the potential benefits of working in the industry, in part to help in balancing the relatively better-known challenges.
- Importance of advantages tends to be higher than importance of challenges. This is key to focusing on the positives of working in the sector – the benefits or advantages are less well-known, but of considerably greater importance when youth are deciding where they would consider working.
- Low awareness and credibility of information in the areas of greatest importance. The areas of highest awareness and believability or credibility (green-shaded areas in table) of advantages are actually counter to those that they indicate are most important for them regarding interest in working in the sector. This type of finding can help identify areas of focus for efforts into developing and providing relevant, reliable, and accessible information to better engage with this target audience.
- Awareness of the seafood industry is lower. Awareness of potential geographic and seasonality challenges of working in Seafood Manufacturing tends to be lower among youth compared to some of the other work environment challenges.
- Unpredictability of employment is an important challenge for youth. The seasonality and level of unpredictability of jobs in Seafood Manufacturing are important top challenges cited by youth when considering working in the sector.
- Association with killing animals is challenging. The challenge of working in a sector involving animals being killed is of high awareness and importance for youth in considering employment in the sector.
| JOB ADVANTAGE | AWARENESS | IMPORTANCE | BELIEVABILITY | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | “very aware” (5 rating) | higher awareness (5+4 rating) | R | “very important” (5 rating) | higher importance (5+4 rating) | R | “very believable” (5 rating) | higher believable (5+4 rating) | |
| No specific education | 1 | 22% | 47% | 8 | 20% | 42% | 1 | 29% | 55% |
| Available across country | 2 | 20% | 47% | 5 | 22% | 48% | T2 | 28% | 54% |
| Rural locations | 3 | 20% | 46% | 6 | 24% | 45% | T2 | 28% | 54% |
| Right out of school | 4 | 19% | 46% | 7 | 21% | 45% | 4 | 25% | 54% |
| Wide range of jobs | 5 | 16% | 43% | 4 | 24% | 51% | 5 | 23% | 51% |
| Skills training available | 6 | 14% | 38% | 3 | 26% | 51% | 6 | 20% | 48% |
| Career progression | T7 | 12% | 34% | 2 | 29% | 54% | 7 | 15% | 39% |
| Competitive pay/ benefits | T7 | 12% | 34% | 1 | 32% | 55% | 8 | 14% | 39% |
R = Ranking
| JOB ADVANTAGE | AWARENESS | IMPORTANCE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | “very aware” (5 rating) | higher awareness (5+4 rating) | R | “very important” (5 rating) | higher importance (5+4 rating) | |
| Involves animal being killed | 1 | 48% | 68% | 2 | 28% | 48% |
| Environments with strong odours | 2 | 42% | 64% | T3 | 26% | 48% |
| Requires physical work | 3 | 41% | 58% | 5 | 22% | 44% |
| Jobs located outside cities | 4 | 26% | 52% | 6 | 21% | 43% |
| Seafood jobs located in Eastern Can | 5 | 22% | 47% | 7 | 21% | 41% |
| Seafood jobs are seasonal | 6 | 23% | 46% | T3 | 26% | 48% |
| Seafood jobs can be unpredictable | 7 | 18% | 40% | 1 | 24% | 49% |
9.2.2 Indigenous Canadians’ Perspectives on Job Advantages and Challenges
When examining Indigenous Canadians’ views on the various job advantages and challenges of the meat and seafood manufacturing sector (see Table 12 & 13), there are areas that stand out as more advantageous in addressing this segment. The pattern of results overall indicates the following:
• Awareness of challenges tends to be higher than awareness of advantages. Only one advantage (jobs being available right out of school) recorded awareness of more than half (51%) compared to all but two challenges. Only a third of Indigenous respondents were aware of some of the more attractive advantages (in terms of importance ratings), such as competitive pay and benefits (35%), career progression (35%), and skills training opportunities (35%). As with youth, there is a need for the sector to focus on communicating information about advantages.
• Importance of advantages tends to be higher than importance of challenges. Specifically, for the aforementioned advantages in pay and benefits (58%), career progression (57%), and skills training opportunities (56%). These outweigh the top three disadvantages; the top-ranked of which is mentioned as important by 50% as a comparison (malodorous working environments).
• Some awareness and credibility of information in the areas of greatest importance. The areas of highest awareness and credibility (green-shaded areas in Table 8) of advantages indicate that respondents are more likely to place credibility in ideas that they are aware of – making awareness key to creating a preferential perception of the sector. The research points to seemingly more intuitive ideas, such as variety in jobs and available skills training, being more credible despite lower awareness, thus making them important advantages to communicate. Especially so as these are also ranked highly on the list of important advantages.
• Awareness of the seafood industry is lower. As with youth, awareness of potential geographic and seasonality challenges of working in seafood manufacturing tends to be lower among Indigenous respondents compared to the other work environment challenges.
• Unpredictability, seasonality, and physical challenges deter Indigenous Canadians. These three challenges rank in a virtual tie (rounded to 50%) as the top most important. Location and the potential of killing animals rank as less important.
| JOB ADVANTAGE | AWARENESS | IMPORTANCE | BELIEVABILITY | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | “very aware” (5 rating) | higher awareness (5+4 rating) | R | “very important” (5 rating) | higher importance (5+4 rating) | R | “very believable” (5 rating) | higher believable (5+4 rating) | |
| Available across country | 1 | 23% | 44% | 7 | 26% | 47% | 3 | 27% | 53% |
| Right out of school | 2 | 23% | 51% | 6 | 26% | 49% | 4 | 26% | 56% |
| No specific education | 3 | 20% | 42% | 8 | 23% | 48% | 2 | 27% | 50% |
| Wide range of jobs | 4 | 20% | 43% | 4 | 29% | 53% | 1 | 28% | 54% |
| Rural locations | 5 | 17% | 39% | 5 | 26% | 45% | 5 | 24% | 50% |
| Competitive pay/benefits | 6 | 15% | 35% | 1 | 39% | 58% | 8 | 18% | 42% |
| Career progression | 7 | 15% | 35% | 3 | 33% | 57% | 7 | 19% | 43% |
| Skills training available | 8 | 14% | 35% | 2 | 33% | 56% | 6 | 23% | 53% |
R = Ranking
| JOB ADVANTAGE | AWARENESS | IMPORTANCE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | “very aware” (5 rating) | higher awareness (5+4 rating) | R | “very important” (5 rating) | higher importance (5+4 rating) | |
| Involves animals being killed | 1 | 54% | 69% | 4 | 28% | 45% |
| Requires physical work | 2 | 50% | 73% | 3 | 29% | 50% |
| Environments with strong odours | 3 | 47% | 65% | 1 | 32% | 50% |
| Seafood jobs are seasonal | 4 | 32% | 53% | 2 | 30% | 50% |
| Jobs located outside cities | 5 | 26% | 51% | 7 | 20% | 41% |
| Seafood jobs can be unpredictable | 6 | 23% | 43% | 5 | 28% | 50% |
| Seafood jobs located in Eastern Can | 7 | 22% | 48% | 6 | 25% | 44% |
R = Ranking
9.2.3 New Canadians’ Perspectives on Job Advantages and Challenges
New Canadians present a similar set of challenges (see Table 14 and 15) in terms of how to effectively communicate the advantages of working in the meat and seafood manufacturing sector. The pattern of results overall indicates the following:
• Awareness of challenges tends to be higher than awareness of advantages. Particularly, in very high awareness of the top three challenges: animals being killed, physical work, and malodorous working environments (45% or more very aware for each of these challenges). The top challenges by awareness also closely correlate to the top important challenges, while this relationship is somewhat inversed for advantages. One important exception is the advantage of varied jobs, where a comparably larger proportion of New Canadians are aware (46%) and also likely place a high amount of importance (58% – ranked 3rd) in the advantage.
• Low awareness and credibility of information in the areas of greatest importance. Except for the advantage of a wide range of jobs being available (3rd in awareness, importance, and believability), the topmost important advantages are also at the bottom of the most credible advantages. Overall, believability is higher than awareness (measured by collapsed 4+5 ratings), indicating that some New Canadians are susceptible to a change in perception.
• Awareness and importance of challenges are closely aligned. As noted by the green colouring as well as rank indicator, the top challenges by awareness are also higher up in importance. This indicates that challenges are more top of mind among New Canadians and serve as a barrier to parts of this segment viewing employment in the sector favorably.
• Awareness of the seafood industry is lower. As with youth and Indigenous Canadians, awareness of potential geographic and seasonality challenges of working in seafood manufacturing tends to be lower among New Canadians compared to some of the other work environment challenges.
| JOB ADVANTAGE | AWARENESS | IMPORTANCE | BELIEVABILITY | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | “very aware” (5 rating) | higher awareness (5+4 rating) | R | “very important” (5 rating) | higher importance (5+4 rating) | R | “very believable” (5 rating) | higher believable (5+4 rating) | |
| Rural locations | 1 | 31% | 50% | 7 | 25% | 56% | 8 | 13% | 63% |
| No specific education | 2 | 24% | 46% | 8 | 21% | 44% | 1 | 28% | 54% |
| Wide range of jobs | 3 | 20% | 46% | 3 | 34% | 58% | 3 | 23% | 54% |
| Available across country | 4 | 20% | 46% | 5 | 27% | 53% | 2 | 28% | 55% |
| Skills training available | 5 | 17% | 41% | 4 | 33% | 58% | 5 | 19% | 49% |
| Right out of school | 6 | 17% | 42% | 6 | 26% | 49% | 4 | 21% | 48% |
| Competitive pay/benefits | 7 | 14% | 32% | 1 | 39% | 62% | 6 | 13% | 37% |
| Career progression | 8 | 13% | 36% | 2 | 35% | 59% | 7 | 13% | 37% |
R = Ranking
| JOB ADVANTAGE | AWARENESS | IMPORTANCE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | “very aware” (5 rating) | higher awareness (5+4 rating) | R | “very important” (5 rating) | higher importance (5+4 rating) | |
| Involves animals being killed | 1 | 51% | 70% | 2 | 28% | 49% |
| Requires physical work | 2 | 46% | 74% | 4 | 28% | 52% |
| Environments with strong odours | 3 | 45% | 68% | 1 | 30% | 54% |
| Jobs located outside cities | 4 | 30% | 58% | 5 | 27% | 53% |
| Seafood jobs are seasonal | 5 | 24% | 46% | 3 | 28% | 52% |
| Seafood jobs can be unpredictable | 6 | 18% | 40% | 6 | 26% | 50% |
| Seafood jobs located in Eastern Can | 7 | 15% | 35% | 7 | 20% | 44% |
R = Ranking
9.2.4Unemployed Workers’ Perspectives on Job Advantages and Challenge
Similar trends exist when considering unemployed workers (see Table 16 & 17), and it is clear that similar efforts will have to be applied to overcome some of the obstacles to changing perceptions among this segment. The pattern of results overall indicates the following:
• Awareness of challenges tends to be higher than awareness of advantages. Less than half of unemployed respondents were aware of each of the listed advantages, and awareness was particularly low for those advantages deemed most important. On the other hand, only two challenges (unpredictable jobs and locations in Eastern Canada) recorded less than 50% awareness among unemployed respondents. The most important challenges are also the ones unemployed respondents are most aware of.
• Importance of advantages tends to be higher than importance of challenges. In particular, for advantages in pay (59%) and career development (56%). In fact, all the top four important advantages are rated important by a larger proportion of respondents than the top challenge (physical work requirements – 52%).
• Lower awareness and credibility of information in the areas of greatest importance. Particularly, in the top two important advantages, competitive pay (36% awareness/ 41% believability) and career progression (34%/ 42%). It is noteworthy that believability in these advantages is somewhat higher than awareness (five points for competitive pay and eight for career progression), indicating the possibility of a successful communications campaign.
• Awareness of the seafood industry is lower. Again, awareness of the challenges specific to the seafood industry is lower, particularly when looking at 4+5 ratings combined. Simultaneously, unpredictability and seasonality of seafood jobs are deemed to be in the top four ranked challenges by importance.
• There is a group within respondents that are very challenged by the killing of animals. While this subsegment (29%) rates the challenge of potentially killing animals as highly important, the challenge is not among the top four by 4+5 ratings combined. This indicates that while close to a third of unemployed respondents are strongly challenged by the proposition of killing animals, this is not among the most important challenges for the group as a whole.
| JOB ADVANTAGE | AWARENESS | IMPORTANCE | BELIEVABILITY | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | “very aware” (5 rating) | higher awareness (5+4 rating) | R | “very important” (5 rating) | higher importance (5+4 rating) | R | “very believable” (5 rating) | higher believable (5+4 rating) | |
| No specific education | 1 | 26% | 47% | 7 | 24% | 46% | 2 | 30% | 56% |
| Rural locations | 2 | 22% | 45% | 6 | 25% | 45% | 3 | 28% | 51% |
| Available across country | 3 | 22% | 45% | 5 | 27% | 50% | 1 | 31% | 58% |
| Right out of school | 4 | 19% | 46% | 8 | 23% | 47% | 4 | 27% | 53% |
| Wide range of jobs | 5 | 19% | 44% | 4 | 30% | 53% | 5 | 26% | 54% |
| Skills’ training available | 6 | 15% | 36% | 3 | 30% | 54% | 6 | 21% | 50% |
| Competitive pay/benefits | 7 | 14% | 36% | 1 | 38% | 59% | 7 | 17% | 41% |
| Career progression | 8 | 13% | 34% | 2 | 31% | 56% | 8 | 17% | 42% |
R = Ranking
| JOB ADVANTAGE | AWARENESS | IMPORTANCE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | “very aware” (5 rating) | higher awareness (5+4 rating) | R | “very important” (5 rating) | higher importance (5+4 rating) | |
| Involves animals being killed | 1 | 49% | 69% | 1 | 29% | 47% |
| Requires physical work | 2 | 48% | 72% | 4 | 28% | 52% |
| Environments with strong odours | 3 | 46% | 67% | 3 | 28% | 51% |
| Seafood jobs are seasonal | 4 | 28% | 50% | 2 | 29% | 50% |
| Jobs located outside cities | 5 | 27% | 56% | 7 | 24% | 47% |
| Seafood jobs can be unpredictable | 6 | 22% | 45% | 5 | 26% | 48% |
| Seafood jobs located in Eastern Can | 7 | 22% | 48% | 6 | 25% | 44% |
R = Ranking
9.3 PERCEPTIONS ON SPECIFIC OCCUPATIONS
Overall, there is a sizeable segment within each target audience that considers themselves qualified for each of the example jobs. Naturally, the subset of interested applicants is lower than the pool of qualified candidates for most of the positions. The Operations Manager job stands out as the exception amongst the examples offered, both in terms of the general interest in applying, which sometimes outsizes the proportion of qualified candidates, and in terms of reasons for and against applying to the position.
Generally, the reasons most likely to be given as to why respondents are interested in applying to the job are opportunities in pay and benefits and interest in the work. This is true within each target audience. The job opportunity examples included:
- Fish Filleter
- Industrial Butcher/ Industrial Meat Cutter
- Lobster Processor
- Operations Manager
9.3.1Youth Perspectives on Specific Occupation
There is a gap between qualified candidates and likely applicants. For all but one job example (Operations Manager), youth are more likely to think they are qualified than they are to apply. A sizeable segment of young Canadian respondents considers themselves qualified for the job examples. Of the jobs considered, respondents are most likely to say they are qualified for the Fish Filleter job (54%), followed by the Lobster Processor (49%). Only one in three (30%) consider themselves qualified for the Operations Manager position. Despite ranking last in terms of qualified respondents, the Operations Manager position is the one most likely to draw applicants (30%).
The combination of pay and benefits is generally the most likely selected reason for why youth respondents would want to apply to the jobs presented. Interest is a close second in most cases, and for the Lobster Processor example, the top reason (selected by 54%). Interest (or the lack of it) is, on the other hand, by far the top reason why youth respondents are unwilling to apply to all but the Operations Manager job. Notably, pay and advancement opportunities are not likely barriers to interest in applying for any of the jobs. Viewed in terms of the most important advantages discovered in the previous section, this indicates that those interested in applying make a connection between the job and advantages in compensation and career advancement opportunities.
The Operations Manager job stands out as the most attractive job in terms of potential applicants. Potential applicants are more likely to believe this job comes with advancement opportunities compared to those interested in applying to the other job examples. Those deterred from applying are more likely to say a lack of experience is the reason why.
| JOB | QUALIFIED | APPLY | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualified | Unqualified | Would | Would Not | |
| Fish Filleter | 54% | 30% | 27% | 57% |
| Industrial Butcher / Industrial Meat Cutter | 38% | 44% | 22% | 61% |
| Lobster Processor | 49% | 34% | 25% | 57% |
| Operations Manager | 30% | 53% | 32% | 56% |
| REASON | FISH FILLETER | INDUSTRIAL BUTCHER / IND MEAT CUTTER | LOBSTER PROCESSOR | OPERATIONS MANAGER | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | WA | R | WN | R | WA | R | WN | R | WA | R | WN | R | WA | R | WN | |
| Pay and benefits | 1 | 60% | 2 | 25% | 1 | 56% | 3 | 18% | 2 | 53% | 2 | 33% | 1 | 63% | 3 | 12% |
| Interest | 2 | 60% | 1 | 58% | 2 | 53% | 1 | 50% | 1 | 51% | 1 | 55% | 2 | 56% | 2 | 35% |
| Necessary experience | 4 | 31% | 3 | 22% | 4 | 33% | 2 | 34% | 4 | 34% | 3 | 21% | 4 | 28% | 1 | 65% |
| Advancement opportunities | 3 | 39% | 4 | 17% | 3 | 36% | 4 | 15% | 3 | 40% | 4 | 19% | 3 | 51% | 4 | 9% |
9.3.2Indigenous Canadians’ Perspectives on Specific Occupations
There is a gap between qualified candidates and likely applicants. Indigenous respondents are more likely to think they are qualified than to be willing to apply for all positions, with the exception of Operations Manager, where they are equally likely. Approximately half of Indigenous respondents say they are qualified for the Fish Filleter and the Lobster Processor jobs, whereas only a third or less say they would apply. Industrial Butcher/Meat Cutter and Operations Manager are both jobs with a lower likelihood of qualified candidates. Notably, the Fish Filleter is the most likely job for Indigenous respondent applicants (32%), unlike the other three groups where the Operations Manager was the most likely position.
The combination of pay and benefits is the most likely selected reason for why Indigenous respondents would want to apply to the jobs presented. Of those that would apply, interest is a close second likely reason selected, whereas for those that are not willing to apply, interest is the most likely reason for not applying for all but the Operations Manager position. Notably, pay and advancement opportunities are not likely barriers to interest in applying for any of the jobs. This suggests that advantages in compensation and career advancement opportunities are recognized by those that are interested in applying for these positions.
The Operations Manager job stands out. Again, like among youth respondents, this position attracts the most potential applicants. Those deterred from applying are more likely to say a lack of experience is the reason why.
| JOB | QUALIFIED | APPLY | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualified | Unqualified | Would | Would Not | |
| Fish Filleter | 52% | 27% | 32% | 52% |
| Industrial Butcher / Industrial Meat Cutter | 36% | 46% | 24% | 61% |
| Lobster Processor | 49% | 34% | 28% | 57% |
| Operations Manager | 28% | 58% | 28% | 56% |
| REASON | FISH FILLETER | INDUSTRIAL BUTCHER / IND MEAT CUTTER | LOBSTER PROCESSOR | OPERATIONS MANAGER | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | WA | R | WN | R | WA | R | WN | R | WA | R | WN | R | WA | R | WN | |
| Pay and benefits | 1 | 60% | 2 | 27% | 1 | 57% | 3 | 15% | 1 | 59% | 2 | 30% | 1 | 64% | 4 | 8% |
| Interest | 2 | 55% | 1 | 38% | 2 | 52% | 1 | 38% | 2 | 51% | 1 | 38% | 2 | 56% | 2 | 22% |
| Necessary experience | 4 | 30% | 3 | 20% | 4 | 40% | 2 | 34% | 4 | 37% | 3 | 20% | 4 | 29% | 1 | 61% |
| Advancement opportunities | 3 | 41% | 4 | 14% | 3 | 48% | 4 | 9% | 3 | 46% | 4 | 18% | 3 | 44% | 3 | 11% |
9.3.3New Canadians’ Perspectives on Specific Occupations
There is a gap between qualified candidates and likely applicants. Similar to the previous two groups, a sizeable portion of new Canadian respondents feel confident in their qualifications for the job examples, particularly the Fish Filleter and Lobster Processor positions. However, they are also less likely to say they would apply than to say they are qualified—except for the Operations Manager position, where more respondents indicate they would apply (37%) than consider themselves qualified (34%).
Pay and benefits, along with interest in the position, are the most frequently selected reasons why new Canadian respondents would want to apply for the jobs presented. Notably, interest is the top reason cited by potential applicants for the jobs with the highest proportion of qualified candidates (Fish Filleter and Lobster Processor), slightly surpassing pay and benefits. For Industrial Butcher/Meat Cutter and Operations Manager, this relationship is reversed, with pay and benefits taking priority over interest. Those unwilling to apply most commonly cite a lack of interest, except for the Operations Manager position, where a lack of experience is the primary deterrent.
The Operations Manager job stands out. New Canadian respondents are 10 percentage points more likely to say they would apply for this position than the next most selected job, Fish Filleter (37% vs. 27%). Those interested in applying to this role are more likely to perceive it as offering career advancement opportunities compared to the other job examples. Conversely, those deterred from applying most often cite a lack of experience as their reason.
| JOB | QUALIFIED | APPLY | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualified | Unqualified | Would | Would Not | |
| Fish Filleter | 50% | 31% | 27% | 54% |
| Industrial Butcher / Industrial Meat Cutter | 35% | 47% | 21% | 61% |
| Lobster Processor | 45% | 39% | 25% | 60% |
| Operations Manager | 34% | 48% | 37% | 45% |
| REASON | FISH FILLETER | INDUSTRIAL BUTCHER / IND MEAT CUTTER | LOBSTER PROCESSOR | OPERATIONS MANAGER | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | WA | R | WN | R | WA | R | WN | R | WA | R | WN | R | WA | R | WN | |
| Pay and benefits | 2 | 58% | 3 | 26% | 1 | 59% | 4 | 18% | 2 | 57% | 2 | 33% | 1 | 69% | 3 | 13% |
| Interest | 1 | 66% | 1 | 57% | 2 | 57% | 1 | 50% | 1 | 60% | 1 | 56% | 2 | 60% | 2 | 29% |
| Necessary experience | 4 | 17% | 4 | 26% | 4 | 23% | 2 | 38% | 4 | 19% | 3 | 31% | 4 | 25% | 1 | 67% |
| Advancement opportunities | 3 | 35% | 2 | 28% | 3 | 44% | 3 | 19% | 3 | 38% | 4 | 21% | 3 | 59% | 4 | 7% |
9.3.4Unemployed Workers’ Perspectives on Specific Occupations
There is a gap between qualified candidates and likely
applicants. Both the Fish Filleter and the Lobster Processor jobs are likely to be viewed as within the skillset of a sizeable portion of unemployed respondents. The example of Industrial Butcher/Meat Cutter is slightly less likely to be in this category, while only a quarter of unemployed respondents feel qualified for the Operations Manager position. As with the previous groups, the proportion of unemployed respondents that say they would apply for the job examples is lower than the proportion that is qualified for all but the Operations Manager position.
Interest in the position is generally the most likely selected reason for why unemployed respondents would want to apply to the jobs presented. The difference between interest and the second-ranked reason, pay and benefits, is minimal, however, and these should be considered side by side when considering these results. For those that would not apply, a lack of interest is the clear likely reason given.
The Operations Manager job stands out. The differences between this and the other jobs are less pronounced, however, than what was true for the other groups. For example, unemployed respondents are similarly likely to apply for both the Fish Filleter and Lobster Processor jobs, as for the Operations Manager job. Again, the notable difference is in the perception of the required qualification. This is shown in the low number of qualified respondents as well as by those deterred from applying being more likely to say a lack of experience is the reason why than those deterred from the
| JOB | QUALIFIED | APPLY | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualified | Unqualified | Would | Would Not | |
| Fish Filleter | 48% | 32% | 27% | 55% |
| Industrial Butcher / Industrial Meat Cutter | 32% | 49% | 20% | 63% |
| Lobster Processor | 45% | 36% | 25% | 59% |
| Operations Manager | 27% | 56% | 28% | 55% |
| REASON | FISH FILLETER | INDUSTRIAL BUTCHER / IND MEAT CUTTER | LOBSTER PROCESSOR | OPERATIONS MANAGER | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | WA | R | WN | R | WA | R | WN | R | WA | R | WN | R | WA | R | WN | |
| Pay and benefits | 2 | 57% | 2 | 26% | 2 | 56% | 4 | 14% | 1 | 57% | 2 | 32% | 2 | 61% | 3 | 9% |
| Interest | 1 | 58% | 1 | 47% | 1 | 57% | 1 | 43% | 2 | 54% | 1 | 49% | 1 | 63% | 2 | 25% |
| Necessary experience | 4 | 26% | 3 | 24% | 4 | 31% | 2 | 36% | 4 | 30% | 3 | 22% | 4 | 28% | 1 | 64% |
| Advancement opportunities | 3 | 37% | 4 | 18% | 3 | 39% | 3 | 14% | 3 | 39% | 4 | 20% | 3 | 47% | 4 | 7% |
9.4 LIKELIHOOD OF CONSIDERING EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN THE SECTOR
The most compelling result when examining the likelihood of considering employment opportunities in the sector is the increase in the proportion of likely applicants as a result of information gleaned throughout the ChoiceBookTM, which amounted to eight percentage points in difference. Each target audience saw an increase to the proportion of respondents willing to apply for a job in the meat and seafood manufacturing sector and, in particular, the new Canadian respondents (28% at the start of the study to 37% after absorbing the information).
Overall, the potential of bonuses – both for performance and retention – were the most likely perquisites to positively influence the likelihood of respondents to consider employment opportunities in the sector. In general, the more tangible offers, such as bonuses, transportation and predictable full-time work attracted the highest proportion of respondents within each of the segments studied.
The potential perquisites included:
Would you be more or less willing to work in the meat and seafood sector if employers:
- Covered the costs of childcare during work hours
- Have facilities near a school
- Offer bonuses based on performance
- Offer bonuses based on retention (e.g. bonus if stay six months)
- Offer co-op credits for work
- Offer jobs concentrated in select months of the year, allowing for extended time off
- Offer opportunities for language training
- Offer part-time work, allowing for more flexibility
- Offer predictable full-time work
- Offer to cover costs of tuition and school supplies
- Prepare meals for staff
- Provide a path to citizenship
- Provide financial literacy training
- Provide immigration legal support
- Provided fitness facilities on-site/paid for access to facilities nearby
- Take care of transport for employees living on reserve
- Take care of transport to and from work
9.4.1Youth Perspectives on Considering Employment Opportunities
| Employer Offer | Change to willingness to work | |
|---|---|---|
| More (4-5 combined) | Less (1-2 combined) | |
| Offer bonuses based on performance | 56% | 10% |
| Offer bonuses based on retention (e.g. bonus if stay six months) | 55% | 9% |
| Offer to cover costs of tuition and school supplies | 55% | 9% |
| Take care of transport to and from work | 55% | 10% |
| Offer predictable full-time work | 55% | 10% |
| Prepare meals for staff | 51% | 11% |
| Offer part-time work, allowing for more flexibility | 50% | 11% |
| Covered the costs of childcare during work hours | 50% | 10% |
| Offer jobs concentrated in select months of the year, allowing for extended time off | 50% | 12% |
| Provided fitness facilities on-site/paid for access to facilities nearby | 48% | 12% |
| Provide financial literacy training | 43% | 11% |
| Offer co-op credits for work | 43% | 12% |
| Have facilities near a school | 43% | 12% |
| Employer Offer | Change to willingness to work | |
|---|---|---|
| More (4-5 combined) | Less (1-2 combined) | |
| If a meat and seafood manufacturing job was located near you, would you apply? | 20% | 47% |
| Now that you have learned more about it, if a meat and seafood manufacturing job was located near you, would you apply? | 29% (+9) | 38% |
| And if one was not located near you, would you move to work there? | 20% | 51% |
9.4.2Indigenous Canadians’ Perspectives on
Considering Employment Opportunities
Indigenous respondents are motivated by available bonuses. Bonuses based on performance and retention are the most likely potential offers to be selected closely followed by predictable full-time work. The offer unique to this group, taking care of transport for employees living on reserve, was among the bottom three options, and notably nine percentage points lower than the top five (less specific) option of providing transport to and from work.
Information works. After reviewing the information found in the ChoiceBookTM, Indigenous respondents are seven percentage points more likely to say they would apply to a nearby job in the meat and seafood sector. As with youth, one in five say they would move for such an opportunity.
| Employer Offer | Change to willingness to work | |
|---|---|---|
| More (4-5 combined) | Less (1-2 combined) | |
| Offer bonuses based on performance | 57% | 9% |
| Offer bonuses based on retention (e.g. bonus if stay six months) | 55% | 9% |
| Offer predictable full-time work | 53% | 10% |
| Take care of transport to and from work | 50% | 13% |
| Prepare meals for staff | 49% | 11% |
| Offer part-time work, allowing for more flexibility | 47% | 11% |
| Offer jobs concentrated in select months of the year, allowing for extended time off | 46% | 13% |
| Provided fitness facilities on-site/paid for access to facilities nearby | 46% | 12% |
| Covered the costs of childcare during work hours | 42% | 13% |
| Take care of transport for employees living on reserve | 41% | 10% |
| Provide financial literacy training | 40% | 14% |
| Have facilities near a school | 35% | 14% |
| Employer Offer | Change to willingness to work | |
|---|---|---|
| More (4-5 combined) | Less (1-2 combined) | |
| If a meat and seafood manufacturing job was located near you, would you apply? | 22% | 45% |
| Now that you have learned more about it, if a meat and seafood manufacturing job was located near you, would you apply? | 29% (+9) | 37% |
| And if one was not located near you, would you move to work there? | 22% | 50% |
9.4.3New Canadians’ Perspectives on Considering Employment Opportunities
New Canadians are more likely than the other segments to be inspired to work. With the exception of proximity to school facilities, all the offered perquisites attracted a majority of New Canadian respondents to say they would be influenced to be more likely to work in the sector. Bonuses based on performance is the most likely potential offer to be selected, closely followed by transportation and bonuses based on retention. A path to citizenship, immigration legal support, and language training are unique to this segment and are all part of the lower half of the list.
Information works. After reviewing the information found in the ChoiceBook™, New Canadian respondents are 13 percentage points more likely to say they would apply to a nearby job in the meat and seafood sector. The proportion of New Canadian respondents that say they would apply is the highest among the segments at 41%. As with the previous groups, one in five say they would move for such an opportunity.
| Employer Offer | Change to willingness to work | |
|---|---|---|
| More (4-5 combined) | Less (1-2 combined) | |
| Offer bonuses based on performance | 65% | 10% |
| Take care of transport to and from work | 64% | 10% |
| Offer bonuses based on retention (e.g. bonus if stay six months) | 64% | 9% |
| Offer predictable full-time work | 62% | 9% |
| Prepare meals for staff | 58% | 12% |
| Covered the costs of childcare during work hours | 57% | 11% |
| Offer part-time work, allowing for more flexibility | 56% | 11% |
| Provided fitness facilities on-site / paid for access to facilities nearby | 55% | 12% |
| Provide financial literacy training | 54% | 11% |
| Provide a path to citizenship | 53% | 12% |
| Provide immigration legal support | 53% | 12% |
| Offer jobs concentrated in select months of the year, allowing for extended time off | 51% | 14% |
| Offer opportunities for language training | 51% | 14% |
| Have facilities near a school | 49% | 12% |
| Employer Offer | Change to willingness to work | |
|---|---|---|
| More (4-5 combined) | Less (1-2 combined) | |
| If a meat and seafood manufacturing job was located near you, would you apply? | 28% | 39% |
| Now that you have learned more about it, if a meat and seafood manufacturing job was located near you, would you apply? | 41% (+13) | 27% |
| And if one was not located near you, would you move to work there? | 22% | 43% |
9.4.4Unemployed Workers’ Perspectives on Considering Employment Opportunities
Unemployed respondents are motivated by bonuses. The results point to three tiers of perquisites, with performance and retention bonuses, transportation, and predictable work in the top tier. There is a middle tier that includes meals provided, extended time-off, flexible part-time work, and fitness facilities. Finally, there is a bottom tier that includes financial literacy training, childcare costs, and school proximity.
Information works. The information provided in the ChoiceBook™ sways seven percent of unemployed respondents to say they would apply to a job in the meat and seafood manufacturing industry, increasing the proportion of the group that would benefit from one in four to one in three. As with the previous groups, one in five say they would move for such an opportunity.
| Employer Offer | Change to willingness to work | |
|---|---|---|
| More (4-5 combined) | Less (1-2 combined) | |
| Offer bonuses based on performance | 59% | 9% |
| Offer bonuses based on retention (e.g. bonus if stay six months) | 58% | 7% |
| Take care of transport to and from work | 58% | 8% |
| Offer predictable full-time work | 57% | 8% |
| Prepare meals for staff | 52% | 11% |
| Offer jobs concentrated in select months of the year, allowing for extended time off | 50% | 11% |
| Offer part-time work, allowing for more flexibility | 50% | 9% |
| Provided fitness facilities on-site / paid for access to facilities nearby | 47% | 10% |
| Provide financial literacy training | 43% | 10% |
| Covered the costs of childcare during work hours | 43% | 10% |
| Have facilities near a school | 37% | 12% |
| Employer Offer | Change to willingness to work | |
|---|---|---|
| More (4-5 combined) | Less (1-2 combined) | |
| If a meat and seafood manufacturing job was located near you, would you apply? | 25% | 40% |
| Now that you have learned more about it, if a meat and seafood manufacturing job was located near you, would you apply? | 32% (+7) | 34% |
| And if one was not located near you, would you move to work there? | 21% | 50% |
10.0 HUMAN RESOURCE ISSUES, PROMISING PRACTICES AND CONSIDERATIONS
Human resource issues in the industry are the manifestation of various factors outlined in the previous sections. The study examined the specific challenges that align with these issues, in addition to some areas of opportunities that could arise from the challenges being encountered. Through interviews, reviewing reports, conducting roundtable discussions, site visits, and examining other sectors with similar challenges, some promising practices were identified for the sector to consider as it moves forward in attempting to address many of these issues.
While many of the ideas presented in this section have not been formally tested and evaluated to the extent that they could be considered “best practices,” they have had some positive anecdotal results which indicate that there may be “promising practices” that could be further investigated and adapted by employers and other stakeholders. This would be an advantage over the simple ongoing trial and error that can be expensive and time consuming for employers when attempting to address HR issues.
10.1 RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION
SUMMARY
Challenges in recruitment and retention were viewed as the result of multiple, interconnected factors rather than having a single or primary cause. Some of the key interrelated factors identified included the sector’s working conditions and in particular, the working environment which includes temperature challenges (some areas quite warm while other areas are cold), dampness, strong odours, and contact with blood and offal. The other challenges noted with recruitment and retention were related to the physical requirements of many of the jobs, and the issues this presented for the Canadian workforce who are less likely to be working in physical labour occupations compared to when there was more rural labour supply from which the plants could recruit.
Another main area of challenge strongly related to recruitment was regarding current perceptions and an overall lack of awareness of the meat processing industry in Canada. This was usually connected to how people are in general less aware of how food is produced compared to 20 years ago, and the general disconnect that most Canadians have with where their food comes from, and how the pathways for the food products (including meat) that make their way into supermarkets or restaurants. Careers in food processing and meat processing, in particular, may not be on the career radar for many individuals unless there is a pre-existing connection to the industry (e.g., live close to a plant; friends/relatives work in the industry).
The other main issues with recruitment were noted as closely related to the decreasing supply of lower-level skilled labour near plants which is in turn related to increased post-secondary participation rates among youth and the continued movement to urban centres by youth and young families. This contributes to labour shortages overall in rural areas, and overall greater competition for labour from various sectors in both urban and rural settings.
CONSIDERATIONS
Some of the considerations outlined by the study included improving the awareness and perceptions of the industry by promoting the sector within the spectrum of “farm to fork,” and building on the current attention being paid to “foodie culture,” the increased desire by some groups to learn more about the origins and content of their food products, and ongoing celebrity chef popularity to promote the industry.
Recruitment challenges were often addressed effectively by having employee referral programs with current staff which included substantial cash compensation for successful referrals who stay with the company for various milestones. Other recruitment approaches in more suburban-urban centres included working through temporary agencies where there were temporary placements of workers in the plant who are then recruited for permanent positions after payment to agencies (in essence, temporary agencies are working as recruitment agencies for the plants). The benefits of these two types of recruitment are that the potential recruits are often more aware of the challenging working conditions and working environment by already knowing people working at the plant, or having worked some shifts in the plant. This tends to decrease the number of “fast quits” who only remain for 1 or 2 shifts before leaving.
Other factors that appear to have had some success with improving retention rates and making the positions more appealing thus helping with recruitment are aspects such as rapid increases in pay after short probationary periods, flexibility in scheduling, and opportunities to apply for and change positions within the plant.
The development and implementation of onboarding activities beyond a 1-2 hour orientation session appear to be of significant importance to retention. Companies that have invested heavily in this area generally report lower levels of turnover, and longer retention (very few “fast quits”). Onboarding activities can be quite involved, are often structured and involve skills training, physical training and exercises, monitoring of learning, performance assessments and clearly defined progression milestones. In some instances, new workers are assigned coaches or mentors who closely track the adjustment and integration of the new entrant, calling in additional resources and supports as required.
Retention also seems related to training provided by the employer. Some companies (particularly larger companies) are investing considerable amounts in developing training materials, tools and curricula along with learning assessments. Challenges with literacy and English as a second language are overcome to some extent through the development of videos and demonstration techniques that are largely visually based. Also, some companies are going far beyond the “pair someone new with someone who knows the job” type of on-the-job training to instead identifying and developing training staff who work alongside the new workers on the various lines but are designated trainers with specific goals, tasks and milestones for their “students.”
One consideration in examining training, onboarding and other investments in retention is that many of these best practices are being developed and implemented by the largest processing companies. The challenge is that most of the companies in the industry are actually quite small with less than 60 employees (vs. 700-1000). Within the small business context, developing and implementing programs like those described above can be daunting if not impossible. One area for possible recommendation is to develop a more coordinated sector-specific approach to supporting the small medium enterprises by development of common training materials, core designs for onboarding programs, and online training delivery (so training does not have to be done all on-site).
ASSOCIATED RECOMMENDATIONS
- Regional Solutions
- Flexible Workplaces
- Sector Employment Opportunities Awareness Campaigns
- Examine Reasons for the Low Levels of Enrollment in Existing Training for Meat Cutting and Butcher Programs
- Support More Systematic Development of Training Materials, Tools and Programs Within the Industry to Enhance On-the-Job Training
- Industry Learning/Development Programs (Including Some Leading to a Certificate)
10.1.1Challenges with recruitment and retention
Through interviews and site visits, the challenges with recruitment and retention identified by employers were often indications of numerous connected factors and not one single cause. The connections identified included a decreasing supply of lower-level skilled labor pools near plants, resulting from an aging workforce, increased post-secondary education participation rates, and urbanization trends. Combined, these contributed to the situation of many employers attempting to attract a shrinking number of workers to return to the sector or try the sector as a new entrant. Challenges with perceptions of the industry and lack of awareness were identified as contributing to issues in recruiting new sources of labor into the sector.
While turnover rates tended to vary somewhat from region to region and between plants, the overall sector turnover rate imputed from the survey of establishments was within the 40% range. Turnover and issues of worker retention of this magnitude can be challenging to disentangle and attribute to a few single factors. Issues identified with employers, unions, and workers included:
• Industry Image: Several issues were identified regarding the industry image and its negative impact on the recruitment and retention of workers. In general, jobs in the meat processing industry are assumed to be low skill and low pay, lacking appropriate compensation for the physical demands the job requires. The work environment is not thought to be ideal, given hot/cold temperature conditions, task repetitiveness, and the smells and blood associated with meat processing. These negative attributes have led to a stigma surrounding the industry. These perceptions, however, do not reflect the full reality of meat processing plants. Individuals are not often aware of the variety and number of work opportunities available, the supportive working conditions, or many of the benefits offered, including employment stability and competitive benefits packages. Moreover, the industry does not appear to effectively advertise these positive aspects of the work environment.
• Quality of Current Job Candidates: Given the labor shortages in many regions, many employers indicated that they are now hiring workers who they would not have considered hiring a decade ago. While this offers opportunities for individuals who would previously have been unemployed, it can create challenges within processing teams and lines, where experienced, job-ready workers must accommodate team members who are less focused, not putting in as much effort, and overall not performing to the average team level. This can be particularly challenging in environments where everyone is paid a similar wage. The other challenge is that these individuals are much more likely to quit, which puts additional pressures on the workforce and contributes significantly to higher turnover rates.
• Career Expectations and Pathways: There is increased competition from other industries and sectors (e.g., oil in the West, retail, and the service industry in all regions), which makes it increasingly difficult for the meat processing industry to recruit workers. For instance, according to interviews, wages in the service industry (once tips are included) often exceed wages in the meat processing industry in several regions. This issue is exacerbated when some population segments, such as millennials, expect a career and promotions straightaway. Meat processing industry jobs are often assumed by those being targeted for recruitment to be short-term, temporary, and with little consideration given to benefit packages. There is also an assumption that there will be only limited wage increases after a certain level of seniority is attained. Once an individual joins this industry, there are no clearly defined career paths that are explicitly stated. Given that no certification or essential skills have been identified, and that positions are assumed to be lower skill, interview respondents indicated that potential recruits often feel that they will be limited to one occupation or skill area, with few opportunities for cross-training. In that regard, this concern is also coupled with the assumption that there will be no opportunities for mentorship or coaching conducive to career advancement.
• Increase in Local Job Opportunities: As demonstrated through the regional labor market tightness analyses, many regions studied have challenges meeting all industries’ employment requirements, particularly during peak seasons. This situation has resulted in considerably more local job opportunities for lower-skilled workers that would not have been available in previous periods. Given that lower-skill workers often have a highly transferable skill set and experience, they can be much more mobile across sectors compared to those workers with higher credentials or specific technical skill sets. Retaining workers within this type of labor market then becomes often more challenging as it becomes much easier for workers to “try on” a job and then move to another if it’s not an optimal fit.
10.1.2Promising practices and considerations with recruitment and retention
As recruitment and retention continue to be challenging, employers are attempting various approaches to address related issues. Some of the promising practices identified included:
- Open house and tours – employers noted where they had invested in open houses including plant tours, they felt it was not only good for community relations but also increased the number of applications to the plant thus assisting in recruitment. As well, the open house/tours gave potential applicants a chance to see the diversity of jobs as well as a realistic assessment of the working conditions before they applied, which employers believed assisted in decreasing the number of immediate departures that can happen within one week of being hired.
- Connections with community agencies – employers who had made efforts to develop linkages with local community agencies who were associated with a specific target group (e.g., youth, immigrants) or were involved in assisting people with employment needs indicated positive results. It was noted that often these efforts would not necessarily result immediately in new entrants or improve recruitment, but after a period, they would be a source of new employees if efforts were continued.
- Rewarding referrals from current employees – this did not appear to be as frequent in the seafood processing sector as in other sectors where current employees can receive referral bonuses for recommending friends or family members who are retained over certain periods of time. While there was mention of family/friends often being a good recruitment source, there was little indication that this is financially rewarded by the employer. This method has been cited as quite effective in other tight labour markets in other labour-intensive sectors.
- Working with other seasonal employers – a potential practice that was presented as a possibility in a few interviews but does not yet appear to have been put in place anywhere consistently is improved co-operation between regional employers from different sectors as opposed to competition for an increasingly scarce labour supply. It was suggested that it might be worth exploring if it would be possible to work at a community level with employees to determine if there could be optimal “employee sharing” (as opposed to “job sharing”) across employers that is co-ordinated and allows workers living in seasonal employment areas to work with more than one employer in a scheduled manner to develop a longer term, multi-occupation job. For example, combining seafood processing with construction labour and agriculture work. Often workers are doing this on their own, with employers essentially competing with one another to retain an employee. An approach that consists of “work terms” across different community employers or is perhaps combined with support for micro-business ventures with employees might be appealing to some and assist with the challenges involved in “peak” seasons in a number of sectors.
- Improving the meat processing industry’s image – there were various promising practices identified in addressing the current challenges related to industry image. Some of these included:
- Emphasizing the high-level and diversity of skills – there is an opportunity to emphasize the high-level and diversity of skills required in the industry. There are a wide variety of jobs available that span a wide spectrum of skills that often require balancing physical and technical abilities with knowledge. Marketing strategies for the sector can portray employees as athletes and artists that do hard, but challenging, work. Videos can be used to showcase the technicality of the work and the challenging tasks required at higher-level positions.
- Promoting benefits associated with the industry – the reality of the work involved should be balanced with the benefits offered to employees. Learning how other sectors with challenging working conditions (e.g., Canadian Forces, construction, oil and gas, farming and welding) are marketed can help determine if there are lessons that can be learned for the meat industry. While there are certainly challenges with the working environment (e.g., temperature, blood, noise, smells, task repetition), there are also many positive aspects that can be emphasized such as the complex and diverse skills required (e.g., speed, accuracy, athletic and technical excellence), the access to predictable working schedules (contributing to a home-work balance) and the supportive work environment (e.g., teamwork). Furthermore, companies offer support to help individuals succeed (e.g., training, health and safety teams). These can be tough jobs, but they are also jobs of achievement that make a direct contribution to the Canadian economy as part of an important sector.
- Changing vocabulary – there is also an opportunity to consider changes to the terms and vocabulary used on the job; for instance, from “kill floor” to “harvest floor,” from “slaughterhouse” to “meat processing facility” and to provide more specific job titles instead of simply “general labour.”
- Highlighting the industry’s linkages to the food production system – a potential solution is to highlight the industry’s linkages to the system of food production by developing an industry marketing campaign featuring the whole spectrum from farm to table and capitalizing on society’s current interest in food preparation, celebrity chefs, and an idealization of farming and primary producers. It would be possible to increase awareness about the sector if we could move away from a focus on primary producers (farmers) and food preparation (chefs, cooking shows) to be inclusive of all aspects of the system when presenting to the Canadian population (e.g., showcasing butchery at cooking shows, including meat processing in culinary programs, advertising career potential to students interested in culinary school). There is also the potential to capitalize on the concept of “Canada feeds the world,” emphasizing how meat processors play a key role in keeping jobs in Canada and in transforming the primary product to specialized, high-quality food products sought after internationally. The economic contribution by the industry, also demonstrated in terms of the amount and diversity of export products, could be recognized.
- Highlighting career opportunities – there is a general perception that the industry offers short-term jobs rather than career opportunities for people with all different types of background, training and work experience. Some areas that were identified as promising practices to highlight that may address some of the recruitment and retention issues included:
- Emphasizing rural communities and engagement – there is an opportunity to emphasize to potential recruits the community and the potential social and economic benefits from living in smaller towns and rural locations. Marketing the industry’s community partnership and community engagement will help to demonstrate the importance of the industry as a whole, the value that these individual companies place on the holistic wellbeing of the worker and their objective in being an employer of choice. Some companies working in smaller towns are choosing to emphasize community and are strongly marketing the rural location of the plant as a positive factor. These marketing strategies highlight the various immigration services and supports available, the high level of corporate community engagement, schools and education opportunities, employment opportunities for family members, health services, faith communities and the positives of living in vibrant, growing, small communities where home ownership is a possibility.
- Targeting promotion according to life stages and population segments – the study identified promising practices related to how consideration should be given to various life stages and population segments when targeting the promotion of the sector. It is important not to assume that there is a one-size-fits-all approach for industry promotion given that each target group or segment is looking for different things at different times.
- Emphasizing that working in the sector is more than “just a job” – it is key to emphasize that working in the sector is more than just a job, it can be a career. For this purpose, career paths within companies should be developed so that more skilled positions and management positions are hired internally. Several companies noted that hiring from “the floor” is common practice but there is likely an opportunity to create and display career ladders to increase awareness of future possibilities among workers. For the hiring from “the floor” approach to become routine, companies would have to provide support and resources for re-training and education, opportunities for assessment and coaching and mentorship for employees. These efforts could place greater pressure on smaller plants, which would need to be creative with career development strategies.
- Emphasizing the sector stability – efforts to increase awareness of the sector’s job stability would help attract potential workers who might be exploring career opportunities across sectors, particularly those who have experienced employment in less stable industries (oil/gas, retail, manufacturing).
- Understanding trends in employment duration – the industry might also be called to re-evaluate their expectations regarding employment duration to reconsider a shorter time frame for employees (e.g., two years vs ten years). Although there are still many instances in the sector’s current workforce of extended employment tenures (e.g., 15-20 years), the duration of employment with one employer or within a specific sector is likely to be considerably shorter following the trends observed in other industries that are starting to impact the meat processing sector.
10.2 AGING WORKFORCE
SUMMARY
The aging workforce in the meat processing industry presents both opportunities and challenges. Opportunities include access to experienced workers, often with a good work ethic, awareness of job requirements, and dependability. Challenges include adapting to physical requirements, more limited endurance for long shifts, attraction to other sectors heavily recruiting from this group, and the future sustainability of the workforce when this group currently makes up the “core” workforce for many employers.
CONSIDERATIONS
Employers are currently making various considerations in developing approaches to both recruit and retain an aging workforce. Some of these include: increasing flexibility in scheduling, taking into account shorter shifts and additional days off; increased automation and use of technology to assist in alleviating some of the more physical aspects of processing jobs; designing tailored pay and benefits packages; and recognizing experience and seniority within the workforce.
ASSOCIATED RECOMMENDATIONS
- Flexible Workplaces
10.2.1Challenges with the aging workforce
While there were a number of benefits outlined with the currently aging workforce, such as experienced workers, good work ethic, awareness of job requirements, and dependability, there were also some challenges identified. These included:
Physical requirements – Many of the plant jobs have significant physical requirements, such as lifting, standing for long periods, and manipulating materials in a repetitive manner. This can be challenging for an aging workforce, particularly when there are age-related health issues that are exacerbated by the working conditions, such as arthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions.
Endurance for long shifts – As noted previously, in some plants, workers may be required to work very long shifts with limited days off for extended periods. This was noted by employers and employees as challenging for older employees, as their levels of endurance are not as substantial as when they were younger.
Attraction to other sectors – Many other sectors (e.g., retail, food service, tourism) are actively and aggressively recruiting older workers, given all the positives this group provides in a tight labour market with limited new entrants. As a result, some employers are experiencing shifts of workers from their “core workforce,” who may have been with the company for many seasons, not returning as they access other employment opportunities with perhaps greater predictability, flexibility, and easier working conditions.
Future sustainability – By relying on aging workers to make up their “core workforce,” employers are keenly aware that they are vulnerable in the very near future and will have ongoing challenges with sustainability as this group continues to retire and need to be replaced.
10.2.2Promising practices and considerations with recruitment and retention
10.3 INDUSTRY WORKING WITH INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES
10.4 ATTRACTING YOUTH TO THE INDUSTRY
10.5 TRAINING AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
SUMMARY
The current role of training and educational institutions within the meat processing sector is less clear than in other sectors. This is largely due to the sector’s foundational, intermediate, and many higher-skill occupations being primarily experience-based, with training mostly occurring on-the-job. This presents challenges for the sector in terms of missing out on the “validation” role that training institutions often play. Additionally, career planning for youth is often initiated by selecting a post-secondary training or education program. While there are some training programs in post-secondary institutions related to meat processing (such as industrial meat cutting), these appear to be under-subscribed, with limited enrollment and small graduation cohorts.
CONSIDERATIONS
Potential suggestions for the sector include developing closer connections to both secondary and post-secondary programming. This may result in changes such as highlighting sectors within existing programs, developing work placements and work terms within the sector for current programming, considering a path in meat processing that could benefit from external training programs, and combining job-ready development with tailored sector experience.
ASSOCIATED RECOMMENDATIONS
- Examine reasons for the low levels of enrollment in existing training for meat cutting and butcher programs.
- Support more systematic development of training materials, tools, and programs within the industry to enhance on-the-job training.
- Develop industry learning and development programs, including some leading to certifications.
10.5.1Challenges with training and educational institutions
10.5.2Promising practices and considerations with training and educational institutions
10.6 WAGES AND BENEFITS
SUMMARY
While wage levels are similar to those of many other lower-skill level positions and slightly lower than many other production worker positions in Canada, this appears to vary considerably according to regions, size of the plant, type of processing, skills required, and animal being processed (e.g., poultry vs. beef). According to interviews with plant managers and employees, there may be challenges as to whether the current wage levels compensate sufficiently given the working conditions of the industry and the increasing competition from other sectors. For example, if forklift operating in a cold, damp, odorous environment is paying less than forklift operating in a dry warehouse environment, it is challenging to retain workers in the meat processing environment.
The draw of traditional benefits packages (health benefits, pension contributions) for youth appears to be limited according to the interviews conducted with young workers and students. In contrast, the benefits packages were of high importance for recent immigrants, young parents, and older workers.
CONSIDERATIONS
Some suggestions or considerations for possible improvements include: working at more flexibility with benefit packages avoiding a “one-size-fits-all” approach, implementing pay structures that reflect rewards for experience and performance, and developing positioning of the industry that elevates meat processors as an employer of choice.
ASSOCIATED RECOMMENDATIONS
- Regional Solutions
- Flexible workplace
10.6.1Challenges with wages and benefits
Issues regarding wages and benefit structures are multidimensional and include considerations of comparative compensation within the meat processing industry and in relation to the compensation offered in other industries. There are also issues regarding the compensation expectations of potential recruits. Being an industry that is often unionized, top wages in a given position can be reached quite quickly and can result in many workers lacking wage progression. While there were many examples where unions and companies were working together to address recruitment and retention, the nature of the unionized environment can also result in challenges when trying to rapidly adjust wage and incentive policies. In some regions, it is challenging to compete with the wages that are offered in other industries (e.g., oil and gas sector in the West). There is also a concern that raising minimum wages will have a negative impact on the attractiveness of wage rates in the meat processing sector. According to interviews, benefit packages offered in this sector are often attractive but not very well known and are not often considered when calculating the wages for the industry, even though compensation packages can be quite costly. Despite this being a positive aspect of compensation in the industry, there can be discrepancies in the compensation packages offered by small plants compared to larger plants. Potential youth recruits and millennials may not be as interested in benefit packages as they are with wages.
10.6.2Promising practices and considerations with wages and benefits
- Building on existing benefit packages – It is possible to build on existing benefit packages to include creative and diversified incentives, and benefits that target different population groups or that help differentiate smaller plants. For example, what might be an incentive for a parent with a young family of newcomers might be quite different from the perspective of a single high-school graduate exploring careers. Smaller plants may have to develop and offer creative incentives to offset potential wage discrepancies (e.g., free meals, transportation, bonuses). Incentives that have been tested by some companies include referral bonuses for employees, on-site ESL classes, 24-7 medical/health team, attendance bonuses, retention bonuses (after three to six months) for employees and for supervisors, onsite gym facilities or discounted access to community gym, cafeteria facilities, childcare on site, transportation, training opportunities, and routine feedback from staff regarding existing policies. Some of these have been more successful than others depending on the target audience, location, and the needs of workers.
- Emphasizing positive aspects of benefit packages in marketing initiatives – There was consensus among the roundtable participants that the benefit packages available in the industry are not often well known or understood by potential job seekers. While benefits do range considerably according to employer size, region, and location, overall there are some significant packages that are being offered. For example, some plants offer health benefits, family days, and contributions to retirement plans.
- Pay structure that reflects reward for experience and performance – As identified above, in some plants there is very little if any difference between the wage level of new employees with no experience and experienced, high-performing workers. The sector may want to consider examining pay structures among the foundational, intermediate, and higher skill level occupations to determine if there are alternative structures that would better serve their employees and assist with both attracting new employees and yet retaining those who often make up the core workforce of experienced employees.
- Positioning required to be an employer of choice vs employer of last resort – Given the tight regional labour markets resulting in competition for local workers and needing to recruit workers from other regions, the meat processing sector will need to continue to work at positioning itself as an employer of choice rather than an employer of last resort. There is a multitude of factors that can contribute to this positioning, but wages and benefits will always likely remain key in combination with the many other factors described in this report.
10.7 ATTRACTING RECENT IMMIGRANTS
Various challenges in accessing the supply of recent immigrants were outlined previously in section 5.4. Many recent immigrants and refugees choose to relocate in large urban areas. Companies identified that rural relocation requires extensive collaboration with the community to ensure that there are sufficient supports in place and settlement services that can be accessed. This often requires companies to be directly involved in the design and implementation of these services. The community must be welcoming and responsive to the needs of the workers, in particular, those with different cultural backgrounds and practices. As well, it was expressed during interviews with employers that “rural” in Canada might be quite different from immigrants’ countries of origin. For example, services in rural areas in Canada may be much more extensive than in home countries. Similarly, travel expressed in kilometres may seem daunting vs. travel expressed in the time required, given infrastructure and transportation speeds generally available in Canada. In some regions, employers indicated that there is limited information available regarding how to reach out to refugees and newcomers for recruitment purposes. One possible solution is to involve the industry in the immigration process early on so that a connection can be established and the possibility of employment can be offered as an option. Similarly, it was suggested that extra effort be made with regional immigration offices so that they are aware of the labour shortages and potential employment opportunities available in the industry for their clients. Participants in different regions agreed that it would be beneficial to consider providing more structured incentives. For instance, programs could offer the opportunity to expedite permanent residency for refugees and/or newcomers if they move to a rural community and work in the food processing sector. Programs could also provide employment opportunities for spouses. In these instances, permanent relocation is preferred as temporary placements from urban areas are often unsuccessful.
10.8 USE OF TEMPORARY FOREIGN WORKERS
SUMMARY
The main challenges outlined for the use of temporary foreign workers included application challenges such as costs, length of time for approvals, and the lack of opportunities to follow a clearly delineated path towards permanency for TFWs. Overall, the “temporary” in the TFW program is challenging as the sector looks to recruit for full-time, skilled positions to be filled by experienced workers who want to immigrate and settle with their families.
CONSIDERATIONS
Suggestions and considerations included making adjustments to the current immigration pathways so that there are more opportunities for the meat processing sector to facilitate the immigration of skilled meat cutters and their families to Canada.
ASSOCIATED RECOMMENDATIONS
- Support more skilled meat cutters to immigrate permanently to Canada through changes to the NOC coding system
- Focus on permanent pathways for immigration
- Regional solutions
10.8.1Challenges with temporary foreign workers
One main issue surrounding the TFWP is that it is not being used as a temporary solution; those within the industry often aim to keep these TFWs working in the industry and obtain permanent residency. However, there is a greater need for permanent residents than there are permanent residence positions, and the process for renewing Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIA) is costly. There are also barriers to obtaining permanent residency, such as a required ESL Level 4 qualification or the required level of fluency in French to obtain permanent residency in Quebec. Overall, the immigration process seems to prioritize education levels rather than skills that the industry needs, resulting in unmatched industry needs.
- TFWP Application Challenges – Employers noted that there were some challenges associated with the application process. The main concerns highlighted in interviews included the costs associated with the program application, the length of time for processing applications, and the costs and time involved in producing adequate Labour Market Impact Assessments.
- Following a Path to Permanency – Among employers and temporary foreign workers, there is the preference to have a pathway to permanent residence status. This can be challenging given many of the immigration pathways require employment in occupations that are classified at skill levels A or B. Most of the demand for employees are for occupations that are classified at skill level C. (See previous discussion on NOC codes for industrial vs. retail butchers).
10.8.2Promising practices and considerations with temporary foreign workers
Promising Practices and Considerations in Working with TFWs Include the Following:
- Develop Strategies to Attract TFWs Who Will Become Permanent – In most cases, the intention is to recruit and bring workers to Canada who are likely to be retained as full-time permanent employees, who will be assisted in applying for their permanent residency and become fully integrated into the company and the community. Examples of good collaboration between immigration, ESDC, and companies were highlighted in some regions. These were opportunities for ensuring that TFWs would be good candidates for permanent residency (e.g., government officials traveling with companies for out-of-country interviews).
- Supporting TFWs through Partnerships – Ensuring that TFWs will be successful and obtain their permanent residency requires ongoing collaboration between unions, the company, and the community. In some regions, there is funding available to municipalities to create settlement websites and outreach initiatives. Communities and companies need to be prepared to welcome these workers by working with various programs and institutions, such as:
- Schools and immigrant-serving organizations to assist with language interpretation and settlement,
- Municipal services,
- Housing services,
- Financial institutions,
- Medical services,
- Language training,
- Landlords,
- Community and events services (including religious organizations), and
- Local police.
- Adjustments to Immigration Pathways – There were various suggestions as to what adjustments could be made to the immigration pathways so that temporary foreign workers could be accommodated. Many of these involved adjusting immigration pathways so there does not need to be the “temporary” component involved, given that the desire is to have permanent immigration into full-time permanent jobs that would allow newcomers to contribute fully to the local communities.
- Assistance with Housing and Transportation Supports – Employers working with TFWs noted that of key importance in ensuring that TFWs are integrated and comfortable in their work is to make certain that their housing is adequate and that there are transportation supports available within the community. Many of the employers are also actively working with the TFWs to assist them in accessing permanent immigration streams.
10.9 TECHNOLOGY AND AUTOMATION
SUMMARY
The larger plants in the industry are heavily automated and make considerable use of technology. However, this depends to some extent on the animals being processed (e.g., poultry vs. beef), the type of processing, the size of the plant, technology availability, and the level of human skill/judgment required for specific tasks or quality control. Within larger plants, there remain areas that are less automated or specific processes that are challenging to cost-effectively automate, particularly for some value-added specialized products that require client-provided specifications (e.g., specialized pork cuts for export to Japan). These remain labour-intensive areas for the plants involved. For smaller and medium-sized plants, it can be challenging to adapt the technology / automation developed for large plants to accommodate their scale and needs.
CONSIDERATIONS
Adapting technology/automation to scale and to make it affordable to the many small-medium plants may be an area worth further consideration, and one that could potentially assist in alleviating the pressure for manual labour. One example that was apparent in many plants was box folding, where there would be manual box folding teams to prepare the boxes needed on an ongoing basis. While there is technology available for these types of tasks, one plant owner who had approximately 80 employees (4-5 on box folding tasks; 2-3 on taping and sorting onto pallets) noted that box folding technology he would need would be a huge financial investment (cost prohibitive) and, on the current throughput, would have the number of boxes needed for one day folded within about 15 minutes, at which point the machine would sit idle for 24 hours. As well, he would then have to develop additional storage facilities to handle assembled boxes (vs. the box folding team, who could work in a just-in-time fashion).
ASSOCIATED RECOMMENDATIONS
- Innovation partnerships
While the larger plants are heavily automated, the study found that the smaller- and medium-sized firms remained much less so. In interviews with these smaller plants, the main reasons for not being more automated were the capital investment required in addition to the lack of scaling to their facilities. Much of the technology and automation is focused on large facilities, while the majority of the meat processing facilities in Canada are relatively small.
Another challenge with increasing automation and technology in meat processing facilities is that one major area of growth is regarding much more tailored products that are developed and produced according to client specifications, which are noted as becoming increasingly detailed and challenging to automate. This presents a dilemma to many plants that are attempting to increase the value-added products, but the labour requirements are intense, and the contribution that technology/automation can make is challenging given the size of many of the facilities.
CONTENTS
Report Resources
Copyright © 2025 Food Processing Skills Canada
All Rights Reserved