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Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development |
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B.C. EXPANDS
PROGRAM TO HELP FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES |
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VICTORIA – The provincial
government has expanded a two-year, foreign worker pilot project under its
Provincial Nominee Program to address labour shortages in the food processing
industries, announced Murray Coell, Minister of Advanced Education and Labour
Market Development.
“This
government is committed to ensuring B.C. businesses are able to attract and
retain the employees they need,” Coell said. “We’re expanding our foreign
worker pilot project to include certain food production and processing
occupations to help offset a serious staffing challenge.”
The
foreign worker pilot project, aimed at entry-level and semi-skilled foreign
workers, was launched in February 2008 and allows eligible employers to retain
foreign workers who have been in their employ for at least nine months by
offering them an expedited process for permanent residency. Spouses and
dependants of these workers are also eligible to immigrate under the program.
“By expanding the pilot,
the Province is helping us retain valued foreign workers and substantially
reduce the costs of having to replace them,” said Robin Smith, president of the
BC Food Processors Association. “With greater ability to
attract both Canadian and foreign workers, the B.C. food processing industry
will be in a much
stronger position to develop a permanent, reliable and stable workforce,
which is essential for competitiveness.”
The B.C. food processing industry will need
7,800 workers in the next decade. Through the BC Food Processors Association,
this sector has developed human resource development strategies to hire, train
and retain domestic workers. The sector has also demonstrated a need to retain
foreign workers through permanent immigration to fully meet ongoing workforce
requirements.
Occupations
now eligible for the pilot project include industrial butchers, meat cutters,
process control and machine operators, and testers and graders for food,
beverage and fish processing. With sufficient workers in these occupations, the B.C.
food processing sector will be well positioned to continue to provide British Columbians with healthy, high-quality,
local food products and to further develop export opportunities.
For more information, visit
www.pnp.gov.bc.ca and follow the link
under Strategic Occupations.
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contact: |
Communications Director 250 952-6508 250 361-7241 (cell) |
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For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca. |
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