The People Factor

By Isabel Dopta, Food & Beverage Ontario

Earlier this year, Food and Beverage Ontario launched CareersNOW! in partnership with Meat & Poultry Ontario to test pilot projects designed to connect jobseekers and students with employers. Thanks to some incredible team work, the program is now in field, delivering job fairs, skills training, career mentorship, student & job seeker engagement campaigns, and hosting employer and jobseeker platforms.

Workforce challenges and skills gaps certainly aren’t new problems for Ontario’s food and beverage processors, but the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the situation at a time when many other manufacturing industries and food sectors were also under pressure.

Food Processing Skills Canada’s latest stats show that Ontario is home to about one third of the Canadian meat and poultry processing industry establishments and workforce. The top challenge facing meat and poultry processors across the country continues to be availability of labour — about 7% higher than that of the overall processing industry.

As part of their research, Food Processing Skills Canada also looked at revenue loss due to labour shortages. Using their national survey average of six vacancies per Canadian food and beverage processing employer and a cost per vacancy of $190/ day in lost revenue, meat and poultry processors are losing on average, up to $1,100 per day or about $275,000 per year. Apply that number across Ontario’s 250 federal meat and poultry processors, 350 free standing meat plants and 100 provincial abattoirs and the sector revenue loss sits around $192.5 million per year.

Labour is a complex problem which has necessitated the development of solutions that introduce new programs, public policy and resources. CareersNOW! is proving to be an important part of the Ontario solution with actionable support for processors. If you aren’t already involved, this is a good time to check out what’s available, at no cost, to your business.

If you are experiencing job vacancies, visit CareersNOW! Employer – a new online employment platform that’s connecting Ontario businesses with thousands of qualified jobseekers. This online employment system, is also a great place to hire a college or university student for a work placement and apply for wage subsidies. Add CareersNOW! Employer to your regular recruiting strategy by creating an account and taking a few minutes to post your available jobs. Interested in meeting with potential new hires digitally? Participate in a CareersNOW! Job Fair. The CareersNOW! team takes care of the jobseeker recruitment so that employers simply meet online for scheduled interviews with prospective new hires. CareersNOW! is hosting a series of job fairs and one is sure to work for your operation.

Thinking about onboarding for your new hires? CareersNOW! can help with skills training that will ease new hires into a successful start to their job. Choose from 14 microcredentials in soft skills and technical training or have your new employees complete the full curriculum. The training is online, self-paced and proven to build confidence in new hires and support employers in offering a workplace that values learning.

To gain profile for your company brand, CareersNOW! has Taste Your Future and Frontline Food Facts to share stories on employers, employees and career opportunities. Sharing information on your company and the people you employ signals a positive workplace culture, not to mention it supports recruitment and team building. Be part of the CareersNOW! strategy to raise the industry’s profile with jobseekers and students.

For more information on CareersNOW! visit www. foodandbeverageontario.ca or contact Laurie Nicol at the Meat & Poultry Ontario office.