Supporting industry adopt, implement and scale innovative tools, processes, practices or resources to raise awareness of, attract, retain, and develop the domestic workforce in agriculture and food.
The Recruitment, Retention & Innovative Skills Training (RRIST) Program is a three-year, up to $7M program under the Agriculture and Food Workforce Development Initiative (AWDI). AWDI is funded by the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction through the Canada-British Columbia Labour Market Agreement. The initiative is a $15M fund designed to support BC’s agriculture industry to provide a stable and increasing food supply through targeted efforts to recruit and retain a sufficient workforce to meet the labour needs of the industry. AWDI is delivered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC (IAF).
Program Goals
Working in alignment with existing provincial and national labour initiatives, the goals of the RRIST program include:
- Adoption of labour resources, tools, processes by producers and processors.
- Partnerships that attract, train, and support people to work in agriculture, seafood and food processing.
- Piloting of new or innovative labour resources, tools, and/or processes for agriculture, seafood and food processing.
Program Objectives
- Adoption or establishment of new innovative training programs to recruit and train domestic workers.
- Increased participation of specific populations within the agriculture workforce.
- Improved awareness, applicability and outcomes of applied skills development and training programs and/or curriculum for the food and agriculture sector.
- Increased awareness of opportunities and pathways for entry into food and agriculture careers and/or jobs.
Applications
This program is funded by the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia.
