Published November 6, 2024

BONNIE JAMES

LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE

FORT-COULONGE – The Pontiac Chamber of Commerce held a 5 à 7 at Café Downtown in Fort-Coulonge, October 23, featuring a presentation on human resources in agriculture.

The keynote speaker was Rebecca Balsdon, Stakeholder Engagement Specialist with the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC). Balsdon and her husband also co-manage a dairy farm in Clarendon.

Led by industry stakeholders, the CAHRC is a national non-profit organization focused on addressing human resource issues faced by agricultural businesses across the country. The council serves as the centre for research on agricultural labour market information and an access point for customizable solutions related to HR management and training.

Balsdon gave some national and provincial statistics on the agricultural labour market. One in eight Canadian jobs is in agriculture, totalling 2.3 million jobs nationwide, but the industry is experiencing a severe chronic labour and skills shortage; 47% of agricultural producers cannot find enough workers, resulting in production delays, lost sales, and cancelled farm expansions and upgrades. Ninetyseven percent of agricultural employers reported that no Canadians applied for jobs on their farms.

Balsdon said the dairy sector is the largest agricultural employer in Quebec, employing 48% of Canada’s domestic dairy workers. In spite of this, Quebec’s dairy industry experienced a 5.4% job vacancy rate in 2022, with an anticipated labour shortage increase of 10% over the next 8 years; 7,800 jobs remained vacant at peak season in the same year and close to 8,000 workers are expected to retire by 2030. Manual labour and low pay, along with a lack of understanding of the industry and the specialized skills required, were listed as barriers to recruitment.

The fruit and vegetable industry and greenhouses and nurseries are also expected to be hit hard by the increasing labour shortage.

But the news wasn’t all grim, with innovative projects underway to bolster the industry. Balsdon is the project manager for the National Women in Agriculture and Agrifoods Network project, which seeks to increase the number of women represented in agricultural leadership to 30% by 2030. The project aims to develop the network, perform research and surveys, and offer networking and professional development to women in agriculture.

Balsdon highlighted CAHRC’s Growing Opportunities Student Wage Subsidy Program, which supports hiring a student in a work integrated learning (WIL) program (a program with a co-op or work placement component etc.). The program is open to all students, not just those in agricultural studies. Growing Opportunities will pay 50% of the student’s wages up to $5,000 or 70% (up to $7,000) of the wage for a student who is a member of an under-represented group.

CAHRC offers consulting services including research, customized data, and e-learning for employers and employees; webinars on HR topics including leadership and more; and networking opportunities. The organization also offers an online AgriHR toolkit containing a wealth of information and resources on topics like compensation and benefits, succession planning, HR policies, workplace wellness, foreign workers, worker performance, workforce planning, and health and safety.

The presentation ended with a Q & A session. Trefor Munn-Venn of Leystone Farms asked what the core things are that a farm has to get right to attract and retain staff. Balsdon responded that cultivating a positive workplace culture and being a good manager are key.

Rachel Soar-Flandé, MRC Economic Development Officer, asked what emphasis is placed on educating school children about agriculture to attract the next generation to the industry. Balsdon said CAHRC is partnering with the Agriculture in the Classroom program for this purpose.

More information on the CAHRC is available at: www.cahrc-ccrha.ca.

Photo – Pontiac Chamber of Commerce President Sébastien Bonnerot and CAHRC Stakeholder Engagement Specialist Rebecca Balsdon at the Chamber’s 5 à 7 at Café Downtown, October 23. (BJ)

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