Immigrate to Canada as an Agricultural Contractor or Agricultural Supervisor: All you need to know
Canada predicts a labor shortage for contractors and farm supervisors, key jobs to ensure adequate food production, over the next eight years.
The federal jobs in Canada hunting and career planning Job Bank website predicts a shortage of 5,900 of these workers from now to 2031.
“New vacancies due to expansion demand and replacement demand are expected to total 19,800, while 13,900 new job seekers due to school leavers, immigration and mobility are expected to be available to fill,” said Job Bank.
“While this profession has had a balanced market in recent years, projected job vacancies for job seekers are expected to be significantly higher, creating a labor shortage in the period 2022 – 2031.”
With Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announcing earlier this year that Canada’s Fast entry system will start targeting 82 jobs this summer in health care, technology, commerce, transportation and agriculture – including farm service contractors and agricultural supervisors – foreigners hoping to immigrate to Canada are now looking at a new opportunity to permanent residence here.
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The flagship Express Entry selection system has previously only conducted draws based on immigration programs, not targeting specific occupations.
Applicants must have at least six months of continuous work experience in Canada or abroad within the past three years in one of these occupations to be eligible, experience that may have been gained while working in Canada as temporary foreign workers with a work permits or as an international student with a student visa.
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The opportunities are certainly there.
There were 173 job openings for agricultural contractors and farm supervisors, categorized under the National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 system with the code 82030, posted on Job Bank in early June, some of employers who want to hire more than one employee.
The job site Indeed.ca listed 403 such job openings nationwide at the time.
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Most of the jobs listed on Job Bank, 70.5 percent, were in British Columbia’s lush Fraser Valley region and inland region, as well as Alberta’s farm country. There were 97 such jobs in British Columbia, 25 in Alberta and another 29 in the central Canadian province of Ontario.
In Canada, the average hourly wage for these jobs is $23, but that ranges from a low of $13 an hour to $34.62 an hour, Job Bank reveals.
Based on a standard 37.5-hour work week, that would be $67,509 at the top end of the annual pay scale for farm contractors and farm supervisors in Canada.
Among the changes announced at the end of May, Express Entry streams, including the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) program, Federal Skilled Commerce (FST) program and Canadian experience class (CEC), as well as parts of the Provincial nominated programs (PNP) will now better respond to the needs of the labor market.
Immigration Minister opened 82 appeals for targeted draws
“Everywhere I go, I have heard loud and clear from employers across the country who are experiencing chronic labor shortages,” said Immigration Secretary Sean Fraser.
“These changes to the Express Entry system will ensure they have the skilled employees they need to grow and succeed. We can also grow our economy and help companies with labor shortages, while also increasing the number of francophone candidates to help ensure the vitality of francophone communities.”
Canada first signaled its intention to launch profession-specific draws via Express Entry last June when changes were made to the Immigration, Refugee and Protection Act to allow invitations based on occupations and other characteristics, such as language skills.
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Most Canadian provinces have been issuing job-specific invitations for many years.
Under the amendments to the law, the immigration minister is required to consult with provinces and territories, industry members, unions, employers, workers, worker advocacy groups, settlement provider organizations, and immigration researchers and practitioners before announcing new categories.
IRCC is also required to report annually to Parliament on the categories chosen and the rationale for the choices.
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) says the number of occupations with a shortage will double between 2019 and 2021. From 2018 to 2022, federal high-skilled admissions accounted for between 34 and 40 percent of total francophone admissions outside of Quebec, which is its own immigration intake.
