Food and Beverage Manitoba

10 The Future of Work I n 2020, Manitoba's food and beverage sector employed 12,650 Manitobans, making it the largest manufacturing employer in the province. It is also the largest manufacturing sector in the province, accounting for 32 per cent of Manitoba's sales in 2020. Total food and beverage sales in 2020 were $5.9 billion, a full 16 per cent higher than the previous years. What does all this mean? Clearly, the industry is thriving, and is going to need to hire more people with different skill sets as the industry continues to expand. And expand it will, for three reasons. First, Manitoba has the potential to become the leader in North America in the growth of a protein-based industry. Second, global demand for healthy, local, organic and functional foods continues to increase, the need for employees is only going to increase. Third, processed food and beverage products netted a profit of $3.31 billion in 2020, a 16.4 per cent increase over 2019. This accounted for 56 per cent of total food and beverage sales in 2020. These sales figures are only the tip of the iceberg. At present, Manitoba exports processed food and beverage products to about 72 countries including the United States, Japan, China and Mexico, which are Manitoba's top four markets. As the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for quality food products is only going to increase. In turn, Manitoba-based food and beverage processing companies – as they endeavor to respond to this demand by increasing their capacity, and more businesses come online to produce more food – will need more employees. Today, the province has 740 food processing establishments, of which 428 are registered under Manitoba Agriculture. The top three food processing industries are meat product manufacturing, grain and oilseed milling and dairy product manufacturing. Moving forward, these and many other food and beverage- related industries will need to hire more employees – and not just people to work in entry level positions, such as in production. Companies will need people to fill positions that range from marketing, accounting, supply chain management, quality assurance, food science, product development, transport and more. With highly fertile and productive farmland that's suited to the production of various crops and animal products – plus access to state-of-the-art research facilities and a world-class transportation network – Manitoba's food and beverage sector possesses the infrastructure to meet increasing demand. That said, that infrastructure – which will surely grow exponentially in the years to come – will need people to run it. The food and beverage sector offers a wonderful cross-section of employment opportunities. If you're looking for a challenging career that will offer satisfaction and good pay – plus the opportunity to make a difference to people by helping produce the food that sustains them from day to day – we invite you to check out all the food and beverage industry has to offer. Chances are, your eyes will be opened, and you'll find a career that's enjoyable, profitable and fulfilling in the process. If you're looking for a job that offers a bright future, look no further than Manitoba's dynamic food and beverage industry!

• Cover