Halifax Shipyard posts jobs in prep for first ships

The Irving shipyard in Halifax is advertising 15 positions for Red Seal qualified tradespeople in anticipation of work starting on the first offshore Arctic patrol vessel. 

The first steel for the hull won’t be cut until September, but Irving is recruiting specialized welders, electricians, and iron workers now to organize training and some modular work this spring.

Irving spokeswoman Mary Keith says the company expects to sign a long-awaited contract with the federal government this month to build six Arctic patrol vessels.

"We have indicated January of this year and my understanding is we are still on track," said Keith.

"The trades mentioned in the postings are ones we will need early on in the building phase, basically in anticipation of construction of the Arctic offshore patrol ships as we ramp up later this year. But we are also posting for some other skill sets that we will need later on as those ships get underway." 

Keith says the shipyard will be recalling laid off Irving employees based on seniority and also checking through more than 1,500 resumes on file.

The company is also advertising for two welders to fill jobs at its facilities in Dartmouth and Shelburne.  

The Arctic patrol vessels are the first phase of a $25 billion procurement for the Canadian Navy for a still- to-be determined number of warships.

'Really strong demand' for tradespeople

The big resume bank doesn’t mean Irving will have the pick of the crop in today’s very competitive labour market for the trades, says one recruiter.

However, the drop-off in oil prices should work in Irving’s favour if it doesn’t reverse, said Kael Campbell, president of Red Seal Recruiting.

For example, most of the pipefitters and welders who have previously applied to Irving will have already found well-paid jobs, said Campbell. There are 1,500 job ads for welders across the country right now, and more than 300 openings for pipefitters.

“Right now there's still really strong demand,” he said.

“At least half the talent [Irving] would want would be very experienced people. They're hard to bring back.”

In Alberta, pipefitters’ rates can reach $55 an hour, and elsewhere in Canada the same job would pay in the range of $35 an hour, Campbell said.

However, low oil prices have already slowed job creation, and recruiters soon expect to see job losses if the trend continues.

“There hasn't been a huge slowdown in the demand for welders and pipefitters in oil and gas, but we expect that to be coming in the next three to six months as projects get delayed or get cancelled, and as maintenance costs are put off,” he said.

Manufacturing and mining industries in other provinces will also compete for new recruits as they become available, said Campbell. However, he said Maritimers are often keenly interested in returning east, and will often consider taking a pay cut to do so.