CHAT News File Photo

By Chris Brown

Ag aid

Online resource to aid food supply chain, agri-food jobs

Apr 9, 2020 | 4:56 PM

The Alberta government has launched an online resource to help strengthen the food supply chain and fill agriculture and agri-food jobs.

Keeping Alberta’s food supply chain safe and intact is a priority. The new Agriculture Jobs Connector website is a tool for Albertans to find essential agriculture work opportunities and for essential agriculture businesses to find workers.

Currently, some farms in Alberta rely on a federal temporary foreign workers (TFW) program to hire seasonal workers. However, with travel restrictions, typical users of this program are concerned about the availability of foreign workers.

With so many Albertans now out of work due to no fault of their own from COVID-19, there is an opportunity for the needs of both employers in the agriculture sector and Albertans wanting work to connect.

“There are great job opportunities on Alberta farms and ranches. There is definitely a greater appreciation for Alberta’s agriculture sector, and this new website will help Albertans find an exciting new job in this essential service,” says Devin Dreeshen, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry

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Agriculture and food employers and workers can access hiring, job search and farm safety resources through the new Agriculture Job Connector at alberta.ca/AgJobConnector.

Agriculture employers are encouraged to post available jobs on the connector so the positions can be filled by hard-working Albertans who will help keep the food supply chain operational.

In the U.K., due to COVID-19, thousands of seasonal foreign workers were no longer available and a “land army” of thousands of British people came out to work on farms. This website will help connect an Albertan “land army” of non-traditional agriculture workers enter a new and important labour market.