Irving Shipyard hires 50 people for Arctic patrol ship project
Shipyard spokeswoman Mary Keith says 'all is on track'
Irving Shipbuilding says it has hired 50 skilled tradespeople as a result of job fairs the company held recently in Dartmouth, Sydney and Fort McMurray, but it needs more.
The company is looking to recruit 200 workers in total and is still seeking ironworkers with their Red Seal certification, which is the Canadian standard of excellence for skilled trades.
Irving spokesperson Mary Keith says five of the new people started work this month.
"We're continuing to work through another 45 that are in process and then we are continuing to review the remaining applications."
She said the company starts production on the Arctic offshore patrol ship project on Sept. 1 and "all is on track."
Keith says the shipyard also has openings for 80 staff positions in operations and management.
About 800 people are employed at the Halifax Shipyard. That number is expected to stay at 1,000 employees once the project is underway.