Language barriers prevent immigrant worker’s ability to participate in discussions related to training inquiries, training and subsequent knowledge checks. This causes adverse outcomes related to job-related injuries and impacts overall workforce productivity and product quality. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates that language barriers contribute to 25% of job-related accidents. This impact can be strongly hedged against through administering translated training products and information that supports workplace safety practices. In one case, a U.S. food manufacturer reported a 96.60% average post-training score after administering training material in Spanish to a group of 1,265 adult learners facing training barriers as non-English speaking labourers. Testing scores attributed to food handling behaviour and food safety knowledge were improved dramatically when education and workplace information was provided in the employees’ first language. We anticipate our practical project approach of providing core workplace and food safety education, products and supports in selected languages will substantially impact positive outcomes across productivity, employer ROI, morale, and most importantly, workplace safety.

FPSC’s Labour Market Information survey shows that of the 269 food and beverage manufacturing companies surveyed, the following training tools used in the workplace: On-the-job training (90%), In-house team members who provide training (84%), Manuals/ Handouts/ or Quizzes (58%), and Group talks (53%). On-the-job training in the food industry when working with immigrants and New Canadians with limited or no English falls into the known practice of job-shadowing. Not only is “job-shadowing” inconsistent and inefficient, but it also lacks scalability and is dangerous in terms of food and worker safety. Being shown “what” to do and not explaining the “why” or risks involved leaves immigrant employees in a knowledge vacuum, with little to no opportunity to upskill and advance and are at risk of displacement.

Succeeding at Work – Language Stream will benefit New Canadian and immigrant workers and their communities across Ontario. Nationally, Ontario was the province with the most immigrants in 2020, with 139,071 immigrants arriving between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020.  Toronto continues to welcome the most immigrants among Canadian cities by a very wide margin. It attracted nearly 118,000 immigrants last year or 35 % of Canada’s newcomer total. Ottawa welcomed 10,930 and Kitchener-Waterloo 4,585. Immigrants tend to be attracted to more urban areas initially. However, large numbers of processors from various sub-sectors operate away from urban centres. The Belleville/Kingston 401 corridor has recently attracted large processors such as JBS and Canada Royal Milk. Both are sourcing immigrant workers and offering relocation packages due to the workforce shortage in these areas. Meat processing largely operates outside of areas and face difficulty in recruitment, often relying on TFW’s. These sectors continue to have unmet labour market challenges and talent gaps critically impacted by COVID 19. Overall, our project will target over 20 urban and rural food and beverage employers in communities across Ontario such as; Kitchener, Waterloo, GTA, Ottawa, Belleville/Kingston, Brampton, Hamilton, Southern Ontario, Eastern Ontario.