New cheesemakers needed to meet Ontario demand, council says

Guelph, Ont. – A recent survey of Ontario’s cheese manufacturers suggests there is an urgent need to train more cheesemakers to feed the growing interest and demand for Ontario chees, the Agricultural Adaptation Council said in a statement.

Ontario Dairy Council’s members process 97 per cent of the milk produced in Ontario to manufacture a wide range of dairy products, including cheese, the council said on its website. With funding support through the Agricultural Adaptation Council, the organization recently surveyed all cheese processors in the province to assess the growth needs of this sector that generates more than $6 billion in annual sales.

Based on projected growth, turnover and retirement, Ontario dairy processors estimate that more than 200 new cheesemakers will be needed to serve this sector in the next decade. That’s more than the number currently in the province. Training was identified as an urgent requirement to be able to supply the cheese manufacturing sector with skilled cheesemakers.

Identifying the needs for Ontario cheesemakers has attracted interest across Canada and drawn attention to the greater need for skills development and training, according to Stacee Sokoloff, manager of member services and communications with Ontario Dairy Council. “We also collaborated with the Food Processing Human Resource Council, who recently completed the development of the National Occupational Standard for Cheesemaker (NOS). In collaboration with Colleges Ontario and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, we will be sharing our research with Ontario colleges and other industry stakeholders in early April,” Sokoloff says. “In late 2013, Canada entered into the Canada-European Union (EU) Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) Canada Economic and Trade Agreement which will allow for more than 17,000 tonnes of additional imported European cheeses to enter the Canadian market.  It’s increasingly urgent for cheese manufacturers to stay innovative and competitive to maintain and grow their markets.”

The project was funded in part through Growing Forward 2, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative.