Research
Before the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council was established, quantitative and qualitative research was commissioned to get the facts about the human resource, labour, and employment challenges facing Canada’s agriculture sector. The data collected was also used to substantiate or refute the need for an agriculture sector council. *See also History for more information
Taken together, the results of these research initiatives demonstrated the value of creating a sector council for agriculture to start addressing HR issues. Research findings also provided a solid factual foundation from which to determine future action for a sector council to take to address these challenges.
Broad Literature Search and Environmental Scan
A broad literature search and environmental scan was conducted by the George Morris Centre on existing and emerging human resource, labour, and employment issues at the international, national, and provincial levels.
The research outlined five key human resource challenges that needed to be addressed:
- aging workforce and shortage of skilled workers;
- recruitment and retention of qualified employees;
- lack of awareness, and interest, in agriculture career paths;
- shortage of seasonal and harvest labour; and
- lack of training and continuous learning culture.
These challenges require a sustained effort over the longer term, as well as partnerships across the sector with educational institutions and government.
Aging Workforce and Shortage of Skilled Workers
An aging workforce in Canada’s agriculture business has led to a shortage in skilled workers. This does not mean that older workers are “unskilled” necessarily; rather, it reflects that the fact that some older workers may not have the up-to-date skills relevant to today’s agriculture sector.
Recruitment and Retention of Qualified Employees
There are several obstacles preventing the recruitment and retention of new workers into the industry. Some negative perceptions of the industry are one such obstacle.
Lack of Awareness, and Interest, in Agriculture Career Paths
In addition to having negative perceptions of the industry, potential employees possess very little information about the career opportunities offered by the agriculture sector. Until the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council was created, the industry had no sector-specific mechanism through which to promote agriculture career paths.
Shortage of Seasonal and Harvest Labour
Increasingly, the government and policy-making community is focusing on this issue as it affects a number of sectors. The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council can provide a forum in which to shape an industry-driven position to forward debate and future policy-making in this regard.
Lack of Training and Continuous Learning Culture
Opportunities for training agriculture producers, employers and employees does not appear to meet the overall demand and expectation for professional development found in other economic sectors. This is a problem that agriculture stakeholders are just beginning to understand.
Public Opinion Research Surveys
Throughout 2004, GPC Research conducted research surveys of 265 employers and 110 employees in agriculture across Canada. Two separate online/mail-back surveys sought their views on skills training, and recruitment and retention challenges.
The research indicated that although employers and employees valued training and skills development, there were many factors affecting their ability and willingness to participate in it. Survey results also indicated that employers and employees may have different perceptions about the factors that influence recruitment and retention of agriculture workers, as well as the perceived solutions to those problems. Moreover, survey findings suggested that there was an urgent need for more qualified labour throughout the agri-value chain.
Employer Survey
The three top findings from the agriculture employer survey were:
- Shortage of skilled labour: This phenomenon is felt most intensely with regard to specialized labour. For example, a total of 22 per cent reported having difficulty recruiting a welder, versus only 9 per cent who reported having no difficulty.
- More difficulty than ever to recruit: 60 per cent said that competition for skilled labour was having impeding their ability to find qualified workers. More than half acknowledged that low wages, hard work, and poor image associated with the agriculture sector were obstacles to hiring skilled labour.
- Lack of training and professional development culture in the industry: Only one third believed access to training opportunities was an important factor in attracting employees to the agriculture industry. Most employers ranked training and professional development as the least important factor to improving recruitment.
Employee Survey
The three top findings from the agriculture employee survey were:
- Aging workforce: Almost 60 per cent indicated that they had been employed within the industry for at least five years; 41 per cent for 10 years or more, and only 17 per cent had been in the industry for less than two years. Moreover, 53 per cent were 35 to 54 years of age; only one quarter were between 25 and 34.
- Several factors influence whether employees will stay in the industry: More than 40 cited long work hours, low wages, and lack of advancement or professional development opportunities as reasons to explore careers outside of agriculture.
- Lack of training and professional development culture in the industry: Nearly two-thirds said that they had not received any job training in the last year. Of those who had received job training at some point in their careers, 60 per cent said that they would not actually recommend that training to others. This is a particularly important finding, since it demonstrates the gap between employers’ view of the importance of training and professional development, and employees’ obvious desire for relevant and up-to-date training opportunities.
Public Opinion Focus Groups
In early 2005, Malatest & Associates held focus groups in each province with producers from different agriculture sectors to explore their opinions on a wide variety of human resource, labour, and employment-related topics. The issues discussed ranged from industry career awareness and public image to labour retention and occupational standards to employment and immigration policy. The focus groups also explored the value of a possible agriculture human resource sector council.
Human Resource, Labour and Employment Issues
A total of 145 people were consulted during the 13 focus group sessions, the majority of which agreed on the broad human resources issues facing the industry:
- difficulty attracting and retaining skilled and unskilled workers;
- lack of access to, and availability of, relevant training programs;
- several factors* are barriers to recruitment and retention;
- government legislation could be used more effectively to assist recruitment and retention efforts; and
- sector image needs improvement.
*Factors included low wages, long work hours, lack of skilled labour, and negative attitudes towards the agriculture industry.
Agriculture stakeholders also perceived government policy as an impediment to the development of a strong workforce. In particular, focus group participants pointed to constraints associated with Employment Insurance as a disincentive to potential workers, restrictive legislation on foreign seasonal workers entering Canada, and immigration policies.
While focus group participants agreed on the issues, regional differences shaped the way some ‘tactical’ issues were viewed. For example, while all participants agreed that competition for staff was a key challenge, the main sources of competition varied. Participants in British Columbia, for instance, named other producers as main competitors, whereas participants in central and eastern Canada named other industries. This finding is significant because it underlines the importance of ensuring balanced regional representation on the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council to ensure common problems are address using tactics relevant to each region.
There were also indications throughout discussions in the focus groups that there was a significant gap between what employers and producers in the industry can offer and what potential employees expect.
Support for an Agriculture Human Resource Sector Council
The majority of focus group participants supported a sector council if visible results could be quickly achieved. They also provided valuable ideas about the kinds of activities such a sector council should undertake, including:
- improving the industry’s public image;
- raising awareness of agriculture career paths;
- developing recruitment strategies;
- facilitating the retention of skilled labour;
- encouraging skills development and training;
- setting occupational standards for agriculture workers; and
- working with government stakeholders to develop strategies that mitigate the impact of Employment Insurance, or legislation on foreign seasonal workers.
While people were eager to express their opinions, the creation of a sector council was not a top-of-mind issue, even among those in the industry. This finding demonstrates the need for increased communications and awareness about how the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council will help to address some of their human resource, labour, and employment concerns.