Over 140,000 new workers needed for Canada’s food and beverage manufacturing industry by 2030
by CM staff
Last year, the value of Canadian food and beverage exports was estimated at $54.3B accounting for seven per cent of Canada's total exports.
OTTAWA — Food Processing Skills Canada released latest workforce forecasts and labour market information for the Canadian food and beverage manufacturing industry.
Last year, the value of Canadian food and beverage exports was estimated at $54.3B accounting for seven per cent of Canada’s total exports.
In 2022, this industry employed approximately 300,000 people and by 2030 that number is expected to grow to 325,000 — an increase of 9 per cent. However, it is important to note the context for this with Canada’s aging population. It isn’t that only 25,000 new workers are needed in the next seven years, it is that over 65,000 members of the current workforce will retire over that same period. This is in addition to the current 50,000 vacancies that the industry is experiencing.
“In total, the Canadian food and beverage manufacturing industry will need 142,000 new people or almost 50 per cent of the current workforce between 2023 and 2030,” said Jennefer Griffith, Executive Director, Food Processing Skills Canada.
The labour shortage has an enormous economic impact. Previous research conducted by Food Processing Skills Canada in 2020, showed that a single unfilled position in the food and beverage manufacturing industry costs businesses as much as $190 per day in lost net revenue.
Currently, in 2023, there are over 8,800 food and beverage manufacturing industry employers across Canada and losses from job vacancies could total up to $9.9 million in net revenue per day or $3.6B per year.
The recent labour market analysis also predicted that labour productivity will rise by 2.7 per cent between now and 2030 across all sectors except beverage manufacturing. This decrease of productivity is explained by the massive growth in the breweries subsector which has 300 more employer establishments today than five years ago. Beverage manufacturing is also the sector with the highest demand for new people, both in terms of numbers and percentage, with the sector requiring 19,000 new people by 2030 or 38.5 per cent of their current workforce.
The meat and poultry processing sector is more stable with the hiring projection only accounting for 25 per cent of the current workforce. However, the seafood processing sector has the oldest workforce and the highest percentage demand to replace retiring workers with 28 per cent of its current workforce expected to retire by 2030.
Food Processing Skills Canada’s research underlines the importance of New Canadians. There are not enough younger people entering the workforce to replace retiring workers, so immigration is the main driver of growth. Canada is welcoming 1.2 million newcomers between 2021 to 2023 and food and beverage manufacturing has provided opportunities for many New Canadians. Immigrants currently represent 35 per cent of the industry’s workforce which is nearly 10% higher than in the Canadian labour force.
“Canada’s food and beverage manufacturing industry is a global leader in safe food production. It is time for us to also be a global leader in workforce development. We have the research capabilities, the resources, and the leadership to implement solutions and be the very best,” said Jeff Purcell, VP of Operations, Champlain Seafood, and Board Director, Food Processing Skills Canada.
