Fruit Works seeks to connect with domestic workers

Almost 100 Canadians have found work on Okanagan farms and vineyards this summer through a new government program.

BC Fruit Works uses technology to match those interested in such employment with time-sensitive opportunities in the agricultural sector.

“The BC Fruit Works program has the potential to shift our industries into a more organized, collaborative unit, ensuring more efficient communication on the casual workforce we need to operate as a successful industry,” BC Grape Growers’ Association president John Bayley said in a Tuesday release from the government.

“The new BC Fruit Works program represents the future for hiring Canadians to work in B.C. orchards,” adds Sukhpaul Bal, a Kelowna grower and president of the B.C. Cherry Association.

“It includes an app that is elegant and simple to use for both growers and people looking for summer work picking fruit in the Okanagan sunshine.”

Through the BC Fruit Works app, users can be notified immediately of job openings on farms and vineyards across the Okanagan.

For more information and to register, message BC Fruit Works on Instagram or through the agency’s Facebook page.

Promotional material for the BC Fruit Works states: “Get your gig on this summer in the fruit capital of B.C. Pick your gigs, work as much (or as little) as you like, be outside with friends from all over the world.”

“Some benefits include cash in hand, end of season bonuses, quality bonus and you get to work with some of the most seasoned “branch hands” in the world,” BC Fruit Works says.

A shortage of Canadians willing to engage in agricultural work sees about 5,000 Mexican and Jamaican fieldhands come to the Okanagan each year.