Focus on Canada’s Meat Industry!

500+ current job vacancies

ANIMAL FOOD PRODUCTION

SUGAR AND CONFECTIONARY

FRUIT AND VEGETABLE

DAIRY

MEAT AND POULTRY

FISH AND SEAFOOD

BEVERAGES

READY-TO-EAT AND OTHER

Subsector BreakdownSector Composition

Definition of Meat Sector, NAICS Code 3116:This sector is comprised of establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing meat products, including beef, poultry, pork, lamb, venison, goat and rabbit.

GRAIN AND OILSEED

BAKERY AND TORTILLA

There are 10 food processing sub-sectors recognized in Canada:

MEAT AND POULTRY

Canada’s Meat IndustrySector Overview

• Size: 13.5% of all food & beverage processing establishments in Canada (approx 900 facilities).

• Location: Majority in Ontario, Quebec & Alberta

• Employment: Approx 60,000 workers (24% of total industry’s workforce)

• Annual Shipments: worth $21.4 billion (in 2008)

• Processed Meat: approx 70% of processed meats in Canada are made out of pork (sausages, cold cuts, etc.)

• Unionization: 30% (vs. industry average of 25%)

A snapshot of the Meat Processing sector in Canada:

Ontario’s Meat IndustrySector Overview

• Size: There are approximately 275 meat manufacturing establishments in Ontario alone (32% of total sector)

• Immigrant & Aboriginal Workers: 48.4% of workers in Ontario are Immigrants or Aboriginal (0.6%). Much higher than the average of 33% for the meat industry as a whole.

• Gender: Ontario has one of the most evenly weighted gender composition with 58.3% males and 41.7% females.

• Age: 14% of workers are over 55, which is the 3rd highest age population next to PEI & BC. Another 74% of workers are between the ages of 25-54.

Meat Manufacturing within Ontario:

Meat Industry Skills Challenges• Hiring and Retaining Workers (especially companies

in rural locations)

• Finding Skilled Butchers

• Changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program

• No national benchmark of butcher skills to develop standardized industry training or to certify qualified workers

• Meat Cutter (Retail) is considered to be at a higher skill level than an Industrial Butcher (Processing) – NOC Codes

• Lack of New Canadians in non-metropolitan areas

Worker Shortages in the Meat SectorAs of July 2014, there was a documented shortage of 644 workers within the facilities of 8 prominent meat manufacturers. The impact of worker shortages is being felt throughout the entire industry; upskilling the current workforce and hiring new-comers has never been more important for the viability of the meat sector.

Establishment Total workers required Shortage Percentage

Pork, AB 1,485 120 8%

Pork, AB 344 5 1.5%

Pork, MB 1,931 22 1%

Beef, AB 2,515 116 7%

Beef, AB 2,118 307 14.5%

Pork, AB 129 15 12%

Beef & Bison, AB 80 7 9%

Pork, ON 707 52 7%

TOTALS 9,309 644 7%

Compensation & WagesThe average work week consists of 35.5 hours

Meat facilities offer above average pay & full benefits (medical, dental, insurance, pension, etc.)

Successful Career Pathways Opportunity to augment and learn Canada’s official languages

Average Hourly Earnings Employees paid on an hourly basis Employees receiving salary

$18.62 $30.68