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Labourers in food and beverage processing (NOC 9617)

Table of contents
About this job Earnings and Outlook Duties Work environment Workforce and employment statistics
Job requirements Work-related skills Related careers Career paths and resources
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About this job

Labourers in food and beverage processing do packaging, material handling, clean up and other basic activities involved in processing food, beverage and related products.

Want to learn more? Watch this WorkBC Career Trek video and see what it’s like to work in this type of career.

People in this occupation work in  food, beverage and associated products processing and packing plants, such as:

  • fruit and vegetable processing plants
  • dairies
  • flour mills
  • bakeries
  • sugar refineries
  • meat plants
  • breweries
Common job titles
  • attendant, tank
  • baker / grain cleaner
  • bakery
  • egg breaker
  • feeder, nut-chopping machine
  • flour mixer / flour sifter-bolter
  • attendant, tank
  • baker / grain cleaner
  • bakery
  • barrel cleaner / filler
  • beef marker / sampler
  • bottle caser / checker / washer / bottler

Earnings

Annual provincial median salary

$33,370

Source: 2020 Job Bank Wage data

Note:Estimated median employment income based on 2020 Job Bank median hourly wage rate (median annual salary = hourly wage rate x 40 (hours per week) x 52.14 (weeks per year))

Provincial hourly rate

  • High
  • Median
  • Low

Source: 2020 Job Bank Wage Report

B.C. Labour Market Outlook (2021-2031)

Provincial outlook

Forecasted average employment growth rate

  • 2021 - 2026
  • 2026 - 2031

Source: B.C. Labour Market Outlook

Job openings

10 year expected job openings: 3,330

  • 2022
  • 2026
  • 2031

Source: B.C. Labour Market Outlook

Composition of job openings

 
New jobs due to economic growth:
29.9%
1,000 openings
 
Replacement of retiring workers:
70.1%
2,340 openings

Source: B.C. Labour Market Outlook

Regional outlook

Select a region to view regional outlook
Vancouver Island / Coast Mainland / Southwest Thompson-Okanagan Kootenay Cariboo Northeast North Coast & Nechako
Cariboo
Employment in 2021:
100
Average annual employment growth(%) 2021-2031:
1.3%
Expected number of job openings 2021-2031:
40
Kootenay
Employment in 2021:
170
Average annual employment growth(%) 2021-2031:
1.1%
Expected number of job openings 2021-2031:
50
Mainland / Southwest
Employment in 2021:
7,580
Average annual employment growth(%) 2021-2031:
0.9%
Expected number of job openings 2021-2031:
2,760
North Coast & Nechako
Employment in 2021:
N/A
Average annual employment growth(%) 2021-2031:
N/A
Expected number of job openings 2021-2031:
N/A
Northeast
Employment in 2021:
N/A
Average annual employment growth(%) 2021-2031:
N/A
Expected number of job openings 2021-2031:
N/A
Thompson-Okanagan
Employment in 2021:
920
Average annual employment growth(%) 2021-2031:
1.0%
Expected number of job openings 2021-2031:
250
Vancouver Island / Coast
Employment in 2021:
520
Average annual employment growth(%) 2021-2031:
2.6%
Expected number of job openings 2021-2031:
250

N/A - Data not available

Source: B.C. Labour Market Outlook

Duties

Labourers in food, beverage and associated products processing perform some or all of the following duties:

  • transport raw materials, finished products and packaging materials throughout plants and warehouses manually or using powered equipment
  • measure and dump ingredients into hoppers of mixing and grinding machines or mobile tank trucks
  • 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
  • help machine and process control operators with their duties

Work environment

Key aspects of the work in this occupation:

  • Work takes place in an indoor plant environment.
  • Working with machinery poses the risk of causing injury.
  • Workers may be exposed to noise and strong, unpleasant odours.

Workforce and employment statistics

Workforce characteristics

8,400 workers are employed
39% of workers are working mostly full time

Source: 2016 Census

Employment by gender

  Men
  Women

Source: 2016 Census

Employment by age group

  15 - 24 years
  25 - 44 years
  45 - 64 years
  65+ years

Source: 2016 Census

Labour force by industry

Manufacturing:
69%
Wholesale Trade:
18%
Retail Trade:
8%
Transportation and Warehousing:
2%
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services:
1%
View more industry data

Source: 2016 Census

Employment by region

Select your region:
Vancouver Island / Coast Mainland / Southwest Thompson-Okanagan Kootenay Cariboo Northeast North Coast & Nechako
  % employment of this occupation
  % employment of all occupations
Cariboo
Kootenay
Mainland / Southwest
North Coast & Nechako
Northeast
Thompson-Okanagan
Vancouver Island / Coast

Source: 2016 Census

Career paths and resources

Career paths

There is some movement among occupations in this group. Labourers in food, beverage and tobacco processing may, with experience, progress to machine or process operating positions.

Additional resources

Additional resources are not currently available for this career.

Profile last updated:
March 25, 2021
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