Description
Labourers in food and beverage processing perform material handling, clean-up, packaging and other elemental activities related to food and beverage processing. They are employed in fruit and vegetable processing plants, dairies, flour mills, bakeries, sugar refineries, meat plants, breweries and other food and beverage processing and packaging plants.
Job Titles
- Bottle-washing machine tender – food and beverage processing
- Brewery labourer
- Candy packer
- Dairy helper – food and beverage processing
- Food processing labourer
- Frozen food packer
- Meat packager
- Nut sorter – food and beverage processing
- Production helper – food and beverage processing
- Tobacco processing labourer
Main Duties
- Transport raw materials, finished products and packaging materials throughout plant and warehouse manually, or with powered equipment
- Measure and dump ingredients into hoppers of mixing and grinding machines or mobile tank trucks
- Feed and unload food, beverage and associated products processing machines
- Feed flattened boxes into forming machines to construct containers
- Remove filled containers from conveyors and manually pack goods into bags, boxes or other containers
- Clean work areas and equipment
- Check products and packaging for basic quality defects
- Assist process control and machine operators in performing their duties.
Workplaces
- Bakeries
- Brewing companies
- Dairies
- Flour mills
- Food and beverage processing establishments
- Fruit and vegetable processing plants
- Meat plants
- Sugar refineries
Skills
- Equipment and Tool Selection
- Management of Material Resources
- Operation and Control
- Preventative Maintenance
- Quality Control Testing
Abilities
- Dynamic Strength
- Stamina
- Static Strength
- Trunk Strength
- Arm-Hand Steadiness
Personal Attributes
- Adaptability
- Collaboration
- Active Learning
- Concern for Others
- Analytical Thinking
Similar Occupations
- Supervisors, food and beverage processing (92012)
- Process control and machine operators, food and beverage processing (94140)
- Fish and seafood plant workers (94142)
- Testers and graders, food and beverage processing (94143)
- Labourers in fish and seafood processing (95107)
Source: OaSIS
Employment Outlook
The employment outlook will be good for Labourers in food and beverage processing (95106) in Prince Edward Island for the 2022-2024 period.
The following factors contributed to this outlook:
- Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions.
- A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
- There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.
The Island economy is projected to moderate over the forecast period which may affect job opportunities to some degree. Factors that may temper the demand for labourers going forward are greater foreign competition from low-cost producers and increased plant automation. However, a lower Canadian dollar could result in an increased demand for domestic manufactured goods.
Many individuals enter this profession on a temporary basis as they seek alternate careers. As a result this occupational group tends to have a high rate of employee turnover, which should create some job openings for potential workers. There are few barriers to entry and low skill requirements. The job duties for labourers can be quite physically taxing and may require working outside of standard business hours, which can deter some individuals from remaining in this position as well.
Here are some key facts about Labourers in food and beverage processing in Prince Edward Island:
- Approximately 350 people work in this occupation.
- Labourers in food and beverage processing mainly work in the following sectors:
- Food, beverage and tobacco product manufacturing (NAICS 311, 312): 84%
- The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
- Full-time workers: 93% compared to 84% for all occupations
- Part-time workers: 7% compared to 16% for all occupations
- 57% of labourers in food and beverage processing work all year, while 42% work only part of the year, compared to 59% and 41% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 42 weeks compared to 41 weeks for all occupations.
- The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
- Men: 67% compared to 51% for all occupations
- Women: 33% compared to 49% for all occupations
- The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
- no high school diploma: 15% compared to 11% for all occupations
- high school diploma or equivalent: 50% compared to 28% for all occupations
- apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 9% compared to 11% for all occupations
- college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor’s: 19% compared to 25% for all occupations
- bachelor’s degree: 7% compared to 17% for all occupations
- university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: less than 5% compared to 8% for all occupa
Source: Job Bank
Prevailing Wages
| AREA | LOW | MEDIAN | HIGH |
|---|---|---|---|
| PEI | $16.48 | $17.00 | $20.00 |
| Canada | $14.50 | $18.25 | $25.36 |
Training
There are no known training programs for this occupation in PEI. If you are aware of a local training program, please contact us.