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Employment focus of FCO seminars

June 16, 2008, Vineland, Ont. — Flowers Canada Ontario is helping
host a pair of timely employment programs on Monday, June 23. The
sessions will be held in Rittenhouse Hall at the Vineland Resource
Centre, near St. Catharines. The sessions are open to ornamental and
vegetable growers.

June 16, 2008, Vineland, Ont. — Flowers Canada Ontario is helping host a pair of timely employment programs on Monday, June 23. The sessions will be held in Rittenhouse Hall at the Vineland Resource Centre, near St. Catharines. The sessions are open to ornamental and vegetable growers.

SUPERVISOR TRAINING: A supervisor training session on health and safety issues will be held from 1:30 to 4. This Ontario Farm Safety Association seminar will introduce supervisors to their core responsibilities under OHSA (Occupational Health and Safety Act). It will also cover communications skills and training methods on how to instruct workers. The supervisor will also need to understand accident investigation techniques, hazard identification, hazard controls and emergency procedures. They will learn the need for written records for due diligence and how to document safety issues. The target audience is for people who recruit and supervise workers.

“LOW SKILL” OFFSHORE PROGRAM: A second seminar will be held in the same facility from 7 to 9 that evening. It will focus on a “Low Skill” program for offshore workers. Whether it is an aging workforce or a very competitive labour market, finding employees is a constant challenge. The Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP) is well known and well used. There is now a second program to access “low skill” offshore workers. Workers from any country can be hired for full-time work for up to two years. Here is an opportunity to learn more about it.
Henry Neufeld of Human Resource and Social Development Canada will host the session. Included will be a discussion of the application process, including Immigration and Border protocols. The program has considerable potential for agriculture when managed properly. It will complement SAWP and is price-competitive.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION: There is no cost for either session, but pre-registration is required. For more information or to register, contact Ken Linington of Flowers Canada (Ontario) at 800-698-0113 or Ken@fco.on.ca.