173,000 new hires needed for Canadian food security

In this episode of The-Food-&-Wine-Radio-Network, Jennifer English discusses a recent report by Food Processing Skills Canada predicting a staggering requirement of 173,000 new hires in Canada's food and beverage manufacturing industry between 2026 and 2034. The workforce requirement, driven by retirement and sector expansion, is especially acute in certain provinces like Newfoundland and Labrador. Despite the industry demonstrating robust economic strength with sales reaching roughly 173 billion dollars in 2025, it is also grappling with declining productivity and surging labor costs. The report recommends government prioritization of the food economy, the creation of a dedicated workforce strategy, industry-specific training expansion, and the establishment of pre-apprenticeship pathways. Notably, even with full adoption of industry 4.0 standards, the sector will still need a significant number of new workers, underscoring that technology alone won't be sufficient to address the issue. https://edge.prnewswire.com/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4777835-1&h=3028315499&u=https%3A%2F%2Ffpsc-ctac.com%2Freports%2Fthe-workforce-imperative%2F&a=https%3A%2F%2Ffpsc-ctac.com%2Freports%2Fthe-workforce-imperative%2FPOST dataidopta@fpsc-ctac.comhttps://edge.prnewswire.com/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4777835-1&h=2829508812&u=https%3A%2F%2Ffpsc-ctac.com%2F&a=fpsc-ctac.com