Food and Beverage Ontario and Brampton partner to solve barriers to workforce development

Food and Beverage Ontario has partnered with the City of Brampton to identify workforce barriers and find solutions to the growing labour crisis for food and beverage processors in the region.

This new regional workforce pilot is part of Food and Beverage Ontario’s CareersNOW! initiative that is connecting jobseekers and students with employers in Ontario’s food and beverage processing industry. The province’s 4,000 plus food and beverage processor businesses are the number one manufacturing sector employer, but forecasts indicate a 25,000, or 20 per cent, employment gap by 2025. As an essential sector manufacturing food and beverages for Canadians and people around the globe, the immediate and looming vacancy bubble is alarming.

“Brampton is home to more than 300 small to medium-sized and multinational food and beverage processors supporting 8,500 jobs, but we continue to have challenges connecting employers with jobseekers,” said Chris Conway, CEO, Food and Beverage Ontario. “What we learn from this pilot will not only positively impact the workforce situation in the region, but will provide best practices and insights for other regions across the province.”

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce has been commissioned to conduct the analysis and publish a report in early 2022, which will be followed by a City of Brampton ‘Take Action’ roundtable. Research and employer/stakeholder interviews over the next four months will explore local barriers (i.e. daycare, public transportation) and opportunities (i.e. local skills training, employment and newcomer associations, infrastructure supports) impacting development of a successful regional employment pipeline to fill immediate vacancies and future skills gaps.

Brampton is one of North America’s largest agri-food sectors employing over 8,500 people and the region has access to 4.3 million individuals in the labour market across the Greater Toronto Area. Brampton itself has a young and diverse workforce with 234 cultures speaking 115 languages.

“Brampton’s food and beverage sector has played an instrumental role in keeping food on the shelves and Canadians fed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Workers in this sector are essential, and directly impact our community every day. We are proud to partner with Food and Beverage Ontario on this initiative, and together, will identify and work through barriers in the food and beverage processing industry to create new jobs, retain workers and benefit our national economy,” said Patrick Brown, Mayor, City of Brampton.

The Food and Beverage Ontario – City of Brampton Regional Workforce Pilot is being guided by a committee of local experts and leaders. Follow this link to learn more about this project and the committee members.

CareersNOW! is an Employment Ontario project funded in part by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario.