Canada Study: Conference Board and Labour Shortages

canada study: Labour shortages within the sector have already doubled over the past decade and are expected to double again by 2025, reaching 113,800 unfilled jobs, said the Conference Board of Canada study, to be released Thursday, according to Toronto Star. A growing labour gap in agriculture is being driven by a combination of circumstances, including an aging workforce, large seasonal fluctuations in employment, the rural location of many operations, and negative perceptions about working in the sector, said the study, Sowing the Seeds of Growth. Tara Walton / Toronto Star/GETTY IMAGES By Nicholas Keung Immigration reporter Thu., Dec. 1, 2016 With a growing demand for unskilled agricultural workers, a new study warns a large portion of Canadian farmland will lie fallow without a robust migrant farm worker program. Simply paying Canadians more to work in the sector or buying more machines may not be possible and will not eliminate the sector need for TFWs temporary foreign workers . The report came on the eve of a soon-to-come announcement by Ottawa to overhaul its temporary foreign workers program. Twenty years ago, only five per cent of the farm workers were brought in from other countries. react-text 164 A new report says the labour shortage in Canada agricultural sector will double in 10 years, reaching 113,800 unfilled jobs by 2025. /react-text Tara Walton In 2015, the sector accounted for 58 per cent of the number of positive labour market impact assessments a review by federal officials to ensure there a labour shortage and the hiring of the migrant workers will not take jobs away from Canadians. Article Continued Below Currently, migrant workers account for 12 per cent of Canada agricultural workforce, filling about three-quarters of the sector labour gap, said the study. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.