Ontario addresses ag industry’s workforce needs
By Jennifer Jackson
The Ontario government has made a step in the right direction to address the agricultural industry’s growing need for workers.
The Province updated and expanded the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), according to a May 31 release. The OINP allows the Province to nominate skilled trade workers for permanent residency, therefore assisting those sectors in recruiting workers.
One of the OINP updates includes the new Express Entry Skilled Trades Stream.
“This (express) stream enables the OINP to nominate individuals who have the skilled work experience, skilled trades’ certification (if required), language ability, and other characteristics to help them successfully establish and integrate into Ontario’s labour market and communities,” according to the Province’s Application Guide, released May 2017.
The new updates open opportunities new occupational levels in the National Occupational Classification (NOC), framework that measures the skill level and class of work types – specifically NOC level 82 including agricultural service contractors, farm supervisors, specialized livestock workers, and specialized horticulturalists, according to Robin Seligman.
Seligman is a (TOWN)-based barrister and solicitor, certified as a specialist in Canadian Immigration Law by the Law Society of Upper Canada.
Prior to the OINP updates, these occupations were not included in this program. Instead, workers and employers had to meet strict requirements, such as minimum yearly farm sales.
With this new stream, workers still have to meet specific language and labour skill requirements, but they do not need to apply with an employer.
“(The program is) to keep workers here permanently – it’s another opportunity (for these workers),” says Seligman. “Before these updates, a farm supervisor of a small farm would not necessarily have been able to transfer to permanent residence.”
Many of Canada’s agricultural sectors are suffering labour shortages due to a variety of factors including the seasonal demands of the work and an aging domestic workforce.
The updated OINP will support job growth in sectors such as agricultural or construction, according to the release.
In addition to the Express Stream, the government has also updated the Employer Job Offer Stream to allow employers to recruit foreign workers faster and easier, and to allow international students to apply for full-time, permanent jobs.
“Immigration is key to stimulating innovation, growing our workforce and keeping us competitive in a global economy,” said Laura Albanese, Ontario’s Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.
“Ontario’s booming construction and agricultural sectors need skilled trades workers to continue growing. Through immigration we can provide employers in these sectors with the talent they need to prosper and make our province even stronger.”
Seligman echoes the thoughts that these program updates will benefit the included industries.
“The government is starting small and trying to give (workers) a pass to permanent residency – those that didn’t have the opportunity before,” she says. “From my understanding, the Province is hearing (about labour shortages) from those in the industry.”
Follow previous coverage regarding the agriculture industry’s shrinking workforce on Farms.com.