A new online resource has been launched to make it easier to learn about jobs in the agriculture sector.
The B.C. Farm, Fish and Food Job Connector site, launched last week by the Province of B.C., will showcase current job vacancies throughout the province, including those for crop and seafood harvesters, food processing and farm workers, agrologists, large machinery operators and marketing specialists. The site also has sector-specific information and guidance to support businesses as they adapt their recruitment and human resource management in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Agriculture Minister Lana Popham says the website will help the industry and unemployed B.C. workers connect at a difficult time.
“We recognize the workforce challenges brought on by COVID-19 and are helping to address the need to establish a secure agricultural labour force so we can generate economic activity and maintain food security in our communities,” Popham said in a news release.
Jobs are available in more than 30 communities across Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Okanagan and Vancouver Island, as well as in the Kootenays, Cariboo and northern B.C.
The B.C. Farm, Fish and Food Job Connector site can be found at www.bcagjobs.gov.bc.ca.
Meanwhile, during Delta’s virtual town hall meeting on Thursday, Delta South MLA Ian Paton, the B.C. Liberal Party opposition agriculture critic, said he is concerned about the local farming community and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’m very much worried about farmers struggling in Delta and across B.C.,” said Paton. “For instance, the tree fruit industry in the Okanagan is so reliant on temporary foreign workers coming up from the Caribbean or Mexico and they have been shorted this year on the ability of people to come up to help pick the fruit. Up north we had a disastrous fall with canola, wheat and different grains that were not picked up and harvested and now farmers are trying to get that harvested before they have to plant again.”
Paton said here in Delta there are lots of farmers that are dairy farmers and vegetable growers.
“The potato farmers, of course, have an overabundance of potatoes in storage because restaurants…I don’t think people have any idea how many French fries get eaten a day in British Columbia and that has really put a damper on our potato industry. I think it is starting to come around a bit with some of our restaurants reopening, but even milk, we had some dairy farmers in Delta asked to dump milk because for two or three weeks there was a huge over-supply of milk. Think about all the coffee shops that suddenly are not using cream, or yogurt as well as restaurants, cruise ships, banquets, conventions. Between potatoes, milk and vegetables we are starting to get back on track.”
