Beekeeper

In Canada, the federal government groups and organizes occupations based on a National Occupational Classification (NOC) system. This alis occupation may not reflect the entire NOC group it is part of. Data for the NOC group can apply across multiple occupations.

The NOC system is updated every 5 years to reflect changes in the labour market. Government forms and labour market data may group and refer to an occupation differently, depending on the system used. Here is how this occupation has been classified over time:

• 2006 NOC: Farmers and Farm Managers (8251) 
• 2006 NOC-S: Farmers and Farm Managers (I011) 
• 2011 NOC: Managers in agriculture (0821) 

Beekeeping duties vary with the seasons but, in general, beekeepers:

• Prepare colonies for honey and beeswax production, pollination, and over-wintering
• Inspect colonies for vitality, queen performance, level of food reserves, and parasites or disease
• Manage bee colonies by feeding bees, replacing queen bees, dividing colonies, replacing combs, and keeping records
• Monitor hive health issues and apply cures and controls
• Move bees to different locations to pollinate crops
• Collect and package honey, pollen, and beeswax and market to consumers, retailers or packers
• Train workers in food safety and occupational health and safety, and maintain related records
• Maintain and repair bee yard and beekeeping equipment including special protective clothing, bee smokers, hive tools and carpentry tools
• Operate and maintain farm trucks, forklifts, and machines like grass mowers and chemical sprayers for controlling grass around hives
• Operate and maintain food-processing, honey-extraction, and packaging equipment
• Maintain warehouse and equipment
• Use pesticides and antibiotics responsibly

In winter, beekeepers regularly check over-wintering colonies. They maintain and build hive boxes and equipment in preparation for spring and must follow food safety and biosecurity guidelines and regulations when harvesting and processing hive products.

In large-scale commercial operations, depending on years of experience, beekeepers may have varying responsibilities. For example:

• Apiary harvesters harvest honey and clean and maintain hive equipment and the bee yard.
• Apiary workers assist apiary technicians with all aspects of caring for bees, operating and maintaining equipment and collecting and packaging honey.
• Apiary technicians do all of the above and may also supervise staff and interact with external farm personnel, like supply companies and owners of other apiaries.

Beekeepers are busiest in spring, summer, and fall and work long hours in the summer. In winter, they may average 20 hours or less per week in an established operation. They work evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays.

Beekeepers work outside in all kinds of weather. Although automation and mechanization have helped, the work is often repetitive and physically demanding, and requires lifting heavy items.

Beekeepers must follow safety guidelines and wear protective clothing to avoid injury to themselves or others when working with machinery, tools, and hives. Hygiene practices must be followed to prevent or control the spread of diseases from hive to hive and the contamination of hive products.

Beekeepers need:

• Adaptability
• Fitness, coordination, and manual dexterity
• To not be allergic to bee stings
• The ability to tolerate bee stings
• The ability to follow instructions and work without supervision
• The ability to work with a team
• A responsible attitude
• A willingness to learn

They should enjoy:

• Taking a methodical approach to their work
• Being respectful of the land on which their bees are located
• Working with landowners, whose land they rent for placement of hives

Large beekeeping operations often employ beekeeping assistants (apiary harvesters and workers) over the summer months. Some employ assistants year-round. There is considerable demand for beekeeping assistants in Alberta due to a growing demand for hives to pollinate seed canola in southern Alberta.

Beekeepers may start their own businesses or buy an established apiary. Setting up a commercial beekeeping business requires considerable capital investment in addition to the cost of land. Anyone who has bees must register their hives annually with the Government of Alberta.

Beekeepers that have 100 or more hives can become an eligible producer with the Alberta Beekeepers Commission.

Beekeepers are part of the larger 2011 National Occupational Classification 0821: Managers in agriculture. In Alberta, 97% of people employed in this classification work in the Agricultural [pdf] industry.

Alberta Agriculture and Forestry website: www.agric.gov.ab.ca

Alberta Beekeepers website: www.albertabeekeepers.org

Canadian Honey Council website: honeycouncil.ca

For more information on career planning, education and jobs call the Alberta Supports Contact Centre toll-free at 1-877-644-9992 or 780-644-9992 in Edmonton, or visit an Alberta Supports Centre near you.