In partnership with the Windsor Essex Local Immigration Partnership, South Essex Community Council, Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers, the Leamington Chamber of Commerce, and New Canadian Centre of Excellence Inc., Workforce WindsorEssex is leading a project, funded by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs, to support the employment of newcomers in the agri-food sector in Windsor-Essex.
As Windsor-Essex’s agri-food industry faces a consistent and growing skills shortage, there is an opportunity for the large population of local newcomers to earn meaningful employment in a stable and sustainable industry. By identifying best practices from comparable regions, identifying talent opportunities of local newcomers, and improving collaboration between industry and newcomer employment supports, we plan to improve the local skills shortage and increase newcomer employment in the local agri-food industry
Focus groups and consultations will be conducted to develop an evidence-based policy and program recommendations report. The report will provide recommendations for a variety of community partners, including employers, industry associations, employment and settlement organizations, and government organizations.
The aim of the project is to:
• Identify newcomers’ motivations to enter the agri-food sector
• Identify what retention efforts are in place in the sector
• Identify existing policies and programs to support the sector’s hiring and retention efforts of newcomers, and identify potential improvements needed
• identify additional supports needed to remove barriers to employment for newcomers
Learn more about the Agriculture Sector
