KELOWNA – Hundreds of people lined up for more than two hours Monday at a Kelowna career fair hoping to land a job in northern Alberta.
Suncor is hiring people for its new Fort Hills oil sands mine site being developed north of Fort McMurray.
“Our market analysis shows that a large population in the Kelowna region has the experience and technical skill set we’re looking for,” says Suncor spokesperson Sneh Seetal.
At this stage, the company mostly needs heavy equipment operators and certified trades people.
One of the job seekers wasn’t surprised at the long lineup that snaked through a hallway of the Manteo Resort and outside along a sidewalk.
“No, it’s the Okanagan. I’m fourth generation here, always tough to make a living,” says Colin Gawne.
Even though the price of crude oil has plummeted resulting in thousands of layoffs in the Alberta industry, Seetal says Suncor is still hiring for certain positions.
“For Suncor, the majority of down-sizing or workforce reduction that has occurred within our organization impacted Calgary based staff or Fort McMurray based staff in non-operational positions. And those weren’t necessarily the type of positions we’re recruiting for the Fort Hills mine.”
The job fair at the Manteo Resort hotel continues Tuesday and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
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