Recruitment, Retention and Innovative Skills Training Program
RRIST Closed
This programs is not currently accepting applications. Please sign up to the newsletter to learn about future opportunities.
Supporting industry adopt, implement and scale innovative tools, processes, practices and resources to raise awareness of, attract, retain and develop people to work in agriculture and food.
The Recruitment, Retention & Innovative Skills Training (RRIST) Program is a three-year program under the Agriculture and Food Workforce Development Initiative (AWDI). AWDI is funded by the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction through the Canada-British Columbia Labour Market Agreement.
The initiative is a $15M fund designed to support BC’s agriculture industry to provide a stable and increasing food supply through targeted efforts to recruit and retain a sufficient workforce to meet the labour needs of the industry. AWDI is delivered by IAF.
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Program Goals
The program aims to enhance the agriculture and food industry in BC by supporting the adoption of industry-led and focused initiatives best suited to address specific labour and skills training needs. It will assist organizations and partnerships in recruiting, hiring and training domestic workers. Working in alignment with the workforce strategies and labour initiatives, the goals of this program include:
- Adoption of labour resources, tools, and processes by producers and processors
- Developing partnerships that attract, train and support people to work in agriculture, seafood and food processing
- Piloting of new or innovative labour resources, tools and/or processes for agriculture, seafood and food processing
Program Objectives
Successful project proposals should contribute to the following program objectives:
- Adoption or establishment of new innovative training programs to recruit and train domestic workers
- Increased participation of specific populations within the agriculture workforce (E.g. youth, new immigrants, people with disabilities, Indigenous peoples, individuals exiting the criminal justice system or other populations facing barriers to employment)
- Improved awareness, applicability and outcomes of applied skills development and training programs and/or curriculum for the food and agriculture sector
- Increased awareness of opportunities and pathways for entry into food and agriculture
- Improved employer/farm manager management capacity for recruitment, retention and workplace improvements
Approach
Program Structure
The RRIST program is designed to support projects that address labor market needs in the agriculture and food sectors. Applicants are strongly encouraged to employ a collaborative approach to their projects.
Projects must have a clear implementation plan and be time-bound, with an initial project duration of up to 12-months. Project proposals should demonstrate sustainability and outline how they will achieve their objectives and deliverables without relying on future funding.
Multi-disciplinary collaborations are strongly encouraged, and all activities must be conducted within the province of BC. Each partner’s relevant role should be clearly described in the application.
Funding is not intended for research projects. Projects evaluating or researching the labour force/market will not be considered.
Funding
Funding is available to industry to support activities in the following areas:
- Recruitment
- Retention
- Skilled Workforce Development Models
| Project Funding Limit | Cost-Shared Ratio |
|---|---|
| up to $250,000 | 70% of eligible costs |
What does the maximum project funding amount mean?
This is the maximum amount of funding you may receive through the program. The maximum amount of funding you can receive through RRIST is $250,000. If your total project costs are greater than $250,000 you can still apply but will only be reimbursed a maximum of $250,000.
What’s a cost-shared ratio?
The cost-sharing ratio represents the proportion of eligible Total Project Costs contributed by both the applicant and the funder. In this case, 30% of the eligible costs would be paid by the applicant with the remaining 70% paid by the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction (via IAF).
The stacking of funds from other government programs is allowed up to 100% of project costs, provided other funds are not from other programs delivered by IAF.
Eligibility
Eligible Applicants
To be considered eligible for this program, an applicant must be based in the province of British Columbia, and must be one of the following:
- Agriculture, food and/or seafood industry organizations
- Indigenous groups, organizations, and communities engaged in the agriculture, seafood and/or food industry
- Local governments engaged in the agriculture, seafood and/or food industry
- A partnership of producers, processors, non-profit organizations, industry associations, employer organizations, and/or Indigenous groups, organizations, or communities
Please note:
- Only organizations/communities are eligible to receive funding. Individual producers or processors are not eligible to apply individually, however two or more producers/processors may apply in partnership (there must be a lead applicant who applies on their behalf).
- All applicants must be legal entities that are able to enter into a contractual agreement for the transfer of program funds.
- Academic institutions are not eligible applicants but may support or participate in a project that is lead by an eligible applicant.
Eligible Activities and Expenditures
The following activities and costs are eligible within each RRIST activity area. However, other activities and costs aligned with the program goals and objectives may be considered.
- Develop and lead new or innovative approaches to raise awareness of and promote in-demand food and agriculture careers, job opportunities, and associated skills and training programs amongst youth and adults
- Development, delivery and/or adoption of tools, resources, communications strategies, or technologies that facilitate worker recruitment, retention and/or coordination of seasonal workers
- Develop, pilot, and/or delivery of skills and training programs and delivery models that address industry identified gaps, employer, and/or worker needs, and are directly tied to current or potential job opportunities or to advancement in the sector
- Develop and/or deliver employer or management education and training activities to support innovative approaches and best practices in recruitment, retention, human resource development, and/or workplace improvements
- Create partnerships between businesses, industry associations and/or agencies that support employment for populations facing barriers to employment and/or advance equity, diversity and inclusion within the agriculture and food workforce (e.g. youth, new immigrants and refugees, people with disabilities, people exiting the criminal justice system, etc.)*
- Pilot initiatives that reduce an identified barrier to participation in the workforce and/or promote retention (e.g. transportation, translation, childcare, flexible scheduling, etc.)
- Industry led initiatives to develop and pilot new or innovative approaches and/or adoption of practices that address identified labour market challenges, improve labour efficiencies, address skills shortages, promote best practices in human resource development, and/or other workplace improvements
*Must demonstrate appropriate supports and resources in place for the population or community being employed.
Ineligible Participants, Activities and Expenditures
The following participants, activities and expenses are not eligible to be funded under RRIST. This list is not exhaustive and is meant to be used as a guideline.
Ineligible Participants
- Individual producers or processors (may apply as lead as part of a partnership)
- Academic institutions (may be part of a partnership in a project led by an eligible applicant)
- Non-agricultural or food individuals or groups
Ineligible Activities and Expenditures
- Activities not directly related to domestic agricultural and food workforce development (including Temporary Foreign Workers – TFWs)
- Projects targeting recruitment or retention of temporary foreign workers
- In-kind expenses or costs
- GST and other taxes/credits reimbursed to applicant
- Any costs incurred prior to project approval (retroactive costs)
- Requests for funding that are not project-based, and which are dependent upon future funding. Individual projects must have defined start and finish dates, and not be part of an applicant’s day-to-day operations (i.e., employee wages)
- All costs associated with employee housing, relocation or any other employer benefits/wages
- Benefit to only one employer; Assistance to a single employer may only be considered in situations where 1) the applicant represents a majority of a sector; and 2) any resulting competitive advantage experienced by the employer is incidental to broader benefit gained by the labour market
- Capital, equipment or operational expenses
- Travel costs that are not related to implementing the project or presenting results
- Duplicate and/or replace programs or services already provided in BC
- Duplicate projects, information already available in BC
- Assist business/industry with the launch of new products or product development
- Activities that address union-management collective bargaining issue(s)
Applying to the Program
High demand is expected for RRIST. We encourage you to submit a completed application(s) as soon as possible. Applying is not a guarantee of funding.
Notification of application closure will be provided in the RRIST Newsletter and posted to this webpage.
Prior to completing a full application, applicants will complete an Expression of Interest (EOI). The purpose of the EOI is to determine the eligibility of your organization for funding and the eligibility of the project concept. Applicants may provide supplementary materials in support of their EOI submission (e.g. letters of support, CV’s, quotes). The EOI’s intent is to save applicants time and effort if their organization or project is not eligible.
IAF staff are available to answer questions regarding eligible activities, costs and/or the application process. Applicants can contact rrist@iafbc.ca with any questions about the program or to receive support in developing their applications.
Funding decisions will be provided within 8 weeks of complete application submission
Important Program Dates
EOI Open
EOI Close
Invitations to Apply
Project Start
Project Completion
Accessing the IAF Client Portal
To apply to the program, you must first create an IAF Client Portal account and register your organization by navigating to the IAF Client Portal and selecting “Create an account now.”
If you have previously applied to an IAF-delivered program you can skip this step – you’re already registered!
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Starting your RRIST Application
To find the application navigate to the ‘Opportunities‘ tab in the IAF Client Portal and select RRIST EOI.
- Step 1 – Add’l Organization Details
- Step 2 – Project Details
- Step 3 – Project Budget
- Step 4 – Terms & Conditions
- Step 5 – Document Uploads
- Step 6 – Submit
If you are invited to complete a full application additional details will be added to the form, like an expanded budget and other details.
Review and Adjudication
Expression of Interest Review
All EOIs submitted through the IAF Client Portal will be reviewed by the IAF Team. This review entails:
- Organization/applicant eligibility check
- Initial review of application completeness
- Confirmation of alignment with program eligibility
- Project/budget eligibility check
- Evaluation against the RRIST Evaluation Criteria (see Evaluation Criteria below)
EOIs will be reviewed by IAF, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, and successful EOIs will be invited to submit a full application.
IAF will review EOIs on an ongoing basis and anticipates notifying applicants of decision beginning in January 2025. IAF will act in a timely manner to provide EOI decisions and expects all decisions within 8 weeks of submission.
Only those EOIs that meet the evaluation criteria threshold will be invited to complete a full application. Applicants will be notified by email of Expression of Interest results via the IAF Client Portal.
EOIs that are not successful will not be brought forward for any future application intakes. Should another intake occur, applicants will need to re-apply for future consideration. All adjudication decisions are final.
Should an invitation to apply be extended, applicants will have 10 days to complete the full application.
Application Review
All full applications submitted through the IAF Client Portal will be screened by the IAF Team. This review entails:
- Organization/applicant eligibility check
- Initial review of application completeness
- Detailed project/budget eligibility check
- Confirmation of alignment with program eligibility
- Evaluation against the RRIST Evaluation Criteria (see Evaluation Criteria below)
The IAF Team may work in consultation with the program funding partners to confirm the need for additional review.
Retroactive approval of costs incurred prior to project approval will not be considered.
Notifications & Obligations
Funding Notifications & Contracts
If the project is approved, IAF will inform the applicant of the details of the decision and any associated terms and conditions. The applicant then enters into an agreement with IAF which outlines the obligations of each party.
Funding is application and project-specific and must be used for the approved project and related expenses. Funds are non-transferable. Payment of the program funding may only be made to the lead organization (Project Proponent) as outlined in the contribution agreement. All funding payments will be issued via EFT to recipient organization.
Project activities requiring financial resources cannot commence until the contribution agreement has been signed by both the applicant and IAF. All project activities and expenditures must be approved prior to commencing – retroactive costs will not be considered.
Projects may begin on or after a notice of approved project funding. All projects must be completed within 12-months of starting and all projects approved through the program must complete by February 28, 2026. If the project is not approved, the applicant will receive a written response from IAF.
Changes to Contracted Projects
If you are not able to complete your project according to the approved workplan, please inform the IAF Team as soon as possible via the IAF Client Portal.
Reporting Requirements
Successful applicants must complete one or more activity and financial reports to receive payment from the program. These report(s) must be filled out and submitted to IAF to be considered for funding reimbursement. It is important that reports are submitted on time and with all the required information. Please retain all invoices and receipts, you may be asked to submit some or all receipts/invoices following a review of your report(s) by the IAF Team. Expenses will be reimbursed based on the approved project budget and/or audited receipts. All reporting will be completed via the IAF Client Portal.
Funding Acknowledgement
This program is funded by the Government of Canada and Province of BC, therefore; acknowledgment of funding is required when publicly communicating about a project and/or funding. To ensure appropriate acknowledgments, all communications and marketing materials, including public announcements or social media posts, must be pre-approved by the IAF Communications Team. Materials can be submitted via the IAF Client Portal.
Resources
This program is funded by the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia.
