Farm & Workforce Development
Farm & Workforce Development
Farm and Workforce Development supports a thriving, resilient agriculture sector – one that works for both employers and employees. We provide practical tools, training, and resources to help farms build and maintain a sustainable, skilled, and safe workforce. Whether you’re hiring your first employee, navigating training needs, supporting worker well-being, or planning for succession, our Farm and Workforce Development team is here to help.
What We Do
- Support Employers: We help farms attract, retain, and develop workers through workforce planning, recruitment support, training resources, and HR toolkits tailored to agriculture.
- Empower Workers: From educational resources to upskilling opportunities, we advocate for the needs of farm workers and ensure they have access to the resources they need to thrive.
- Promote Agriculture Careers: We actively work to raise awareness about the diverse and rewarding career opportunities in agriculture, helping to engage jobseekers, youth, and underrepresented communities.
Why It Matters
Our work is guided by the evolving needs of Nova Scotia’s agriculture sector, which employed 6,700 people in 2021, accounting for approximately 3% of Canada’s agricultural workforce. While the province represents the country’s fourth-smallest agriculture employer, it has the third highest reliance on temporary foreign agricultural workers in Canada.
We recognize that the agriculture sector is facing significant workforce challenges. Although the demand for labour is expected to increase, the available pool of labour is projected to trend in the opposite direction due to an aging workforce and a declining number of young people entering the field.
We believe a skilled, diverse workforce is crucial to the long-term viability of agriculture in Nova Scotia. By providing farms with the necessary tools, resources, and support, we aim to foster a resilient workforce that can meet the evolving demands of the industry and ensure its future success.