Select Ag. Services seeking seasonal labour

By Heather Cameron

Vauxhall Advance

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Select Ag. Services is looking for people to work at their Taber, Vauxhall, and Enchant locations for the 2023 summer season, which goes from June to early August. 

“We are hiring roguers and leadhands,” Moya Hansen-Deck, operations manager of Select People Solutions in Lethbridge said. “Roguing’ is the act of walking through fields to pick plants that should not be there, also known as “rogue plants”.

Hansen-Deck says that roguers work at $18 per hour and leadhands work at $22 per hour, depending on their experience. The wages, Hansen-Deck says, include mid-season incentives and year-end bonuses. 

“There are many crews throughout southern Alberta, and they span from Lethbridge, Picture Butte, Coaldale, Taber, Vauxhall, Grassy Lake and Bow Island,” Hansen-Deck said. “Daily, the crews are picked up in these locations and brought to specific fields. Every year we consistently connect with families from these areas who show up every day, work hard and do great work. We rely on them heavily to join our team.”

Applicants, Hansen-Deck says, need to be 15 years of age or older to apply. Work shifts are from Monday to Saturday, Hansen says, and the work includes walking extensively for up to eight hours. 

“Those who apply will need to start early in the morning, be dependable, a good team player, and able to legally work in Canada,” Hansen-Deck said.

Select Ag. Services, Hansen says, is part of Select People Solutions and is a locally-owned, family business that has been in southern Alberta for 32 years.

“We support our world class ag industry by providing field staffing solutions to help them successfully grow their valued crops,” Hansen-Deck said. “We employ over 700 Albertans annually being the largest local employer of youth aged 15-18.”

Hansen-Deck says some other benefits that accompany employment with Select Ag. Solutions include paid overtime for extra hours, paid travel time, which is paid weekly; four per cent vacation pay (paid weekly), all tax deductions managed for you, paid weekly (direct deposit on Fridays), sun shirts and safety equipment provided, and incentives paid for attendance, good work, and excellent safety records.

“Working for Select Ag. Services helps people develop leadership skills, empower urban youth with knowledge of the agriculture industry and provide them a good base of work experience for their future career paths,” Hansen-Deck said.

Select Ag. Services, Hansen-Deck says, has worked with local farmers and multinational companies for over 20 years to grow parent seed canola, supporting southern Alberta’s agriculture. Select organizes agricultural crews to rogue over two million acres of canola each year in the areas of Vauxhall, Taber, Bow Island, Grassy Lake, Coaldale, Lethbridge, and Picture Butte, Hansen says.

“The seed that is harvested off the work we do becomes the seed that is sold to growers next year which provides canola seed for human and animal consumption which is shipped internationally,” Hansen-Deck says. “Select helps feed the world!” 

For more information about the open positions or to apply, visit: https://www.selectrecruiting.ca/ag.

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