Autumn 2008
FIELD NOTES
Finding HR solutions for agriculture across Canada
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Message from the Chair
We often consider autumn as the busiest
time for farmers; and for most, it is
indeed a period of high productivity. The
same applies for us at the Council as we
begin a very active phase since our creation
close to two years ago.
Perhaps the biggest news is the approval of
three new projects for CAHRC:
• identifying on-farm occupations;
• new markets and future skills in agriculture; and
• communications and outreach.
These projects are a key feature in this edition of Field Notes: we’re highlighting the funding announcement event that took place in September – and detailing the scope of each project, including the steps already underway.
Our first four projects continue to progress as we enter the final months to their completion. As in previous newsletters, we’re noting a few milestones that have recently been reached and identifying the activities that we expect to complete over the next few months. We’re also continuing to introduce the readers of Field Notes to the industry leaders on our Board of Directors. In this edition, we’re featuring three Board Directors who are heavily involved in our Labour Market Information and Learning Programs Database projects. I invite you to check out the entire Board on our website, and the organizations and associations that they represent.
Our successes are a harvest.We are grateful for your continuing support and interest in our activities and this newsletter. And, as always, we welcome your feedback.
Terry Murray, Eastern View Farms Ltd.
Wild Rose Agricultural Producers, Alberta
Three New Projects Receive Funding!
On September 3, 2008, the Member of Parliament for Glengarry–Prescott–Russell, Pierre Lemieux, announced funding of $1.3 million to CAHRC for three new projects. Mr. Lemieux made the announcement on behalf of the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Canada, the Honourable Monte Solberg, at La Ferme Gillette in Embrun, Ontario.
Speaking to a small crowd that included the farm’s owners and staff, members of the media, and local residents, Mr. Lemieux explained how the investment would help Canadians learn about career opportunities in agriculture – and how it would help the industry deal with skilled labour shortages.
For instance, these projects will define the standards of on-farm occupational skills today, while identifying the requirements of tomorrow’s employees as agriculture industries enter new markets that use cutting-edge technologies. This will provide a clear picture of Canada’s present and future agriculture careers and the skills required to work in these careers to youth who are pursuing an agrarian profession.
The Council’s Executive Director, Danielle Vinette, and Executive Committee Board member, MarkWales, attended the event to elaborate on what the projects would accomplish for agriculture operations across Canada – and to thank the Government of Canada for their support.
The announcement was followed by a brief media scrum with journalists from Le Droit (a regional French-language daily newspaper), La Nouvelle, and the Eastern Ontario Farmers’ Forum. The event concluded with a tour of La Ferme Gillette’s dairy operation.
We look forward to having more of these high profile activities, especially as the Council’s new communications and outreach project is put into action.
New CAHRC Projects
Communications and Outreach
Project Dates: August 2008 – February 2011
Expanding CAHRC’s partnership-building and awareness-raising efforts to ensure that agriculture stakeholders across Canada benefit from the Council’s activities.
The Communications and Outreach project will include the development of a three-year communications and outreach strategy that builds on the Council’s awareness-raising efforts to date. It will also facilitate networking and partnership opportunities through the co-ordination of one national and four regional human resource forums to engage industry stakeholders, educators and government officials in agricultural HR issues.
Recent Progress
An Advisory Group has been created to
guide the project. Members include:
Ron Bonnett, Canadian Federation
of Agriculture;
Kathryn Doan, AgCareers.com;
Brad Dowell, Olds College;
Jacquie Gibney, Farm Credit Canada;
Lance Johnson, IgniteAg;
Judith Lavallée, Agricarrières;
Owen Roberts, University of Guelph; and
WendyWeatherbie, PEI Agriculture
Sector Council.
The first meeting of the advisory group will be held in Toronto on October 22, 2008.
Identifying On-Farm
Occupations
Project Dates: September 2008 – September 2010
Identifying the core skills specific to farm professions across the 10 key agriculture commodity groups, to pave the way for the development of national occupational standards.
This project will build a comprehensive listing of on-farm occupations that are industry-validated and sector-specific by commodity groups. It will include the skill sets and training required for each of these occupations. The results of this project will enable CAHRC to focus on the development of occupational standards that accurately reflect the diverse nature of the industry.
Having a portrayal of all the occupations related to primary agriculture will allow employers to attract skilled employees, assist youth in planning their career paths, and guide educators when they address training gaps.
New Markets and Future
Skills in Agriculture
Project Dates: September 2008 – March 2010
Examining emerging agriculture markets, their related technologies, and the skills and knowledge required of the workforce in these markets.
New and exciting opportunities in
agriculture are being developed with the
growing popularity of nanotechnology;
functional foods; biotechnology; the organic
and ‘buy local’ movements; and more. This project will research in greater detail
the nature of these new opportunities in
agriculture to provide in-depth analysis
of their strategic importance to Canada’s
agriculture sector. The project will also use
this research to identify the occupations
or competencies of agriculture employees
in up to three new markets to
determine the training needs
or gaps in current skills
development and
learning programs.
This initiative
will create greater
awareness of the
employment
opportunities
in new
agricultural
markets across
Canada. It will
also identify the
human resource
skills required of
workers to use new
technologies that
support these markets.
Project Progress
Inventory Database for Gap Analysis of Learning Programs
Project Dates: May 2007 – March 2009
Gathering information on available agriculture training and learning programs across Canada, and the supply and demand for these programs, so we can determine and address the training needs of specific regions.
Recent Progress
Results from more than 865 training user
surveys and over 1,000 courses and program
entries from the training provider surveys
have been entered into the database. A
preliminary gap analysis of supply and
demand for agriculture training programs
by region, commodity, and skill type has
since been initiated to determine which
regions and agriculture groupings have the
most pressing training needs.
NEXT STEPS:
The on-line searchable database of
Canada’s available training programs will
be completed over the next two months.
It will then be reviewed and tested by
educators and other ‘learning’users.The
launch of the site will take place early
in 2009.
Labour Market Information Research on Recruitment and Retention
Project Dates: May 2007 – May 2009
Collecting up-to-date labour market information to understand the complexity and scope of labour needs across Canada – by region and by commodity – so we can determine where workers are needed the most, and identify alternative sources of labour and strategies to gain access to these sources.
Recent Progress
The results of more than 50 informant
interviews and 482 employer surveys were
compiled and analyzed over the summer.
This exercise revealed that additional surveys
were required from Quebec to ensure
accurate comparisons amongst regions across
Canada. Ten on-site interviews of selected
agricultural operations are underway for
completion this autumn.This information
will be used to develop case studies on best
human resource practices for recruitment
and retention.
NEXT STEPS:
An updated draft LabourMarket
Information report, including additional
data fromQuebec,will be presented
to the project’s advisory group in
early December. Case studies
will be completed by January
2009.A presentation on
the final LabourMarket
Information report and
case studies profiling
best practices in
agriculture HR will
bemade at a national
stakeholder session in
Ottawa on February 2, 2009.
Pilot Project: Occupational Standards and Learning Tools for the Ornamental Sector
Project Dates: September 2007 – October 2009
Increasing and standardizing the professional status of workers in the ornamental sector through the review and validation of the essential skills profile and national occupational standard for the Landscape Horticulturist.
Recent Progress
The National Occupational Standard
and Essential Skills Profile for Landscape
Horticulturists report was posted on
CAHRC’s website in French and English this
summer. The next phase of the project entails
the development, testing, reproduction and
distribution of on-the-job learning tools in
order to improve the ornamental sector’s
ability to deliver appropriate training directly
in the workplace.
NEXT STEPS:
A consulting company has been selected
to develop and test on-the-job learning
tools, and to recommend the best format
for these tools (e.g., video, CD, manual,
etc.).A new round of consultations with
industry stakeholders to validate where
the tasks and subtasks of the National
Occupational Standard are best learned
is also scheduled to begin shortly. This
new round of validation will help CAHRC
establish performance criteria for each
task and subtask.
Meet the CAHRC Board of Directors
Project Advisory Groups
Paul LeBlanc chairs the Labour Market Information project, and Christine Koch serves as vice-chair. Connie Kehler is the chair of the
Inventory of Learning Programs project.
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Paul LeBlanc has worked in New Brunswick’s apple industry for close to twenty years. He also serves as the Executive Director of Porc New Brunswick Pork. Paul represents both apple growers and hog producers to ensure that their issues are addressed at provincial, national, and international forums. Paul is also an active member of the Canadian Horticulture Council (CHC). He is a long-time member of the Canadian AppleWorking Group, and he chairs the CHC’s world-class on-farm food safety program which involves more than 20,000 growers in eight horticulture groupings across Canada.
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Christine Koch chose a career in agriculture after earning a Diploma in Agricultural Management from the British Columbia Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science majoring in Agricultural Economics from the University of British Columbia. She served as the Quality Control Manager at the United Flower Growers’ Cooperative Association for five years, followed by nine years as the Provincial Floriculture Industry Specialist at the British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and a subsequent four years as Senior Manager of Horticultural Industries at the Ministry. During her work for the Province, Christine led major labour projects including redrafting the Employment Standards Act for agriculture, creating an Agriculture Labour Partnership Committee, providing BC producers with access to the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program, and working on a labour funding initiative. Today, Christine is the Manager of Policy and Member Relations for the British Columbia Agriculture Council, which represents 12,000 farmers and ranchers.
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Connie Kehler is a
master gardener and
the owner/operator
of the first As the Executive Director of the Saskatchewan Herb and Spice Coalition and the Canadian Herb, Spice and Natural Health Products Coalition, and Program Manager for the Canadian On-Farm Food Safety program, Connie is also an active member of numerous agriculture, health and special crops organizations and committees. Connie is educated in Business Administration and Communications, and has completed training in ISO quality management systems, on-farm auditor, project management, master garden program and taxonomy. She is regularly consulted at the regional, national and international levels as an industry expert.
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Outreach and Partnership
The Council is responsible for generating greater awareness and understanding of agriculture’s most pressing human resource issues – and the projects that CAHRC is undertaking to address these challenges. We take this responsibility seriously; every opportunity is taken to share information about our organization and projects with related national and provincial governments and groups. This includes participating in the following agriculture HR-related events:
- At the National Agricultural Awareness Conference in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador in August, Ag in the Classroom shared with CAHRC and other conference participants best practices for raising awareness for career paths in agriculture.
- Council staff networked with agriculture HR specialists in Niagara-on-the-Lake at the 2008 Canadian Ag and Food HR Round Table.
- CAHRC’s Project Manager made a presentation to the York South Simcoe Training and Adjustment Board regarding career opportunities in agriculture.
- The Council’s Executive Director informed the General Managers of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture about CAHRC’s progress to date on current initiatives, and its three newly funded programs in Longueuil on September 26.