Food and beverage processing

Purpose

To address the critical skill shortage of workers in the Alberta Food Processing Industry, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development  and the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) will consider an employer's business case for selected occupations defined as National Occupation Classification (NOC) C and D occupations.

With respect to the Alberta Food Processing Industry, those occupations are:

• Bakery Production Worker (NOC 9617)
• Food and Beverage Production Worker (NOC 9617)
• Food and Beverage Processing Equipment Cleaner (NOC 9617)
• Industrial Butchers and Meat Cutters (NOC 9462)
• Poultry Production Worker (NOC 9462)

Criteria for Employers:

• The number of allocations approved to employers is based on factors including recruitment strategies and conditions, employment policies and practices, retention and settlement.
   
• An Employer must provide support of increase in temporary foreign workers wage over the duration of the work permit indicating an increase in skills.
   
• An Employer must submit a Candidate who has the required qualifications, has demonstrated excellent work performance and will contribute to the long term success of the company.
   
• An Employer must possess a Service Canada Labour Market Opinion (LMO) Confirmation and meet the conditions such as salary and accommodation.
   
• An Employer must ensure the Candidate is competent in speaking, listening, reading and writing English prior to nomination.
   
  Competency in listening, reading, speaking and writing English is defined as follows:
   

  Major Skill	Listening	Reading	Speaking	Writing
  Canadian Language Benchmark	4	4	4	2

  
  
• Should the Candidate not be competent in English, the employer must provide the Candidate with an in-house English as a Second Language (ESL) program or cover the cost of the ESL training for the Candidate.

New ESL Guidelines for the Food and Beverage Processing Industry - Effective November 1, 2007

• An Employer must provide, in their application to the AINP, a plan outlining their approach to accommodation, settlement and retention for the Candidate from the time the Candidate commences employment with the employer. The plan shall demonstrate employer support and assistance toward successful integration of the workforce, community and society integration.

Criteria for AINP Candidates under the Semi-Skilled Worker Category – Food and Beverage Processing:

• The Candidate must hold a valid work permit for the NOC occupational group of 9462 or 9617, for one of the selected occupation titles (listed above) and be residing in Alberta.
   
• The Candidate must possess a total of three years of full-time work experience in their home country prior to arriving in Canada in a physically demanding job similar to that found in the food and beverage processing industry.
   
• The Candidate must have completed a minimum of high school education.
   
• The Candidate must complete an interview with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development staff and be able to satisfy Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development regarding suitability for the AINP.
   
• The Candidate must be employed in Alberta for a minimum of 6 months and meet or exceed all employer established work and performance standards before being nominated for the AINP.
   
• Candidates not competent in the English language must undergo ESL training from the time they arrive to work to when they become permanent residents.
  
  Competency in listening, reading, speaking and writing English is defined above.
   
• The Candidate must demonstrate integration into the local community.
   
• The Candidate must demonstrate the financial means or capability to pay for the costs of applying for permanent residency and establishing themselves and their family (if applicable) in Alberta.
   
• The Candidate must provide the AINP with certified translations for all documents not in English that are required for their AINP application.

Date Updated: Aug 13, 2008
RDP-673