SkipTheDishes hires over 80 Brazilian people to work in Winnipeg

SkipTheDishes, the online food delivery company headquartered in Winnipeg, has hired over 80 Brazilian people to perform software development and coding work in the city.

The company went on a recruiting trip to the South American country in March and hired 87 people. A handful have already relocated to the city and have started work.

“What we’re finding is that our company is growing so fast that we need to bring on senior talent people who’ve worked with the technologies that we’re working with,” said Craig Adam, Director of Technology for SkipTheDishes.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "What we're finding is that our company is growing so fast that we need to bring on senior talent people who've worked with the technologies that we're working with," said Craig Adam, Director of Technology for SkipTheDishes.

Adam said the company has also hired people from the United States, the Middle East, Africa and Europe and say they do not receive a government grant to hire these workers.

“It actually costs us more, and this is an investment that we’re choosing to make to help increase the level of talent in the community. And the idea is to make it more of a fertile ground for other startups and tech companies in Winnipeg.”

Adam added that they also try to hire locally as much as possible.

One of the new Brazilian employees is Leonardo Nunes, 34, who moved to Winnipeg with his family in January. He said he’s a part of the larger network of Brazilian people who have already moved to the city or are planning to in the future.

“A lot of people are coming from Brazil right now, and we’re sharing all this information with these people right now, and everybody’s looking friendly with this information because they know what to do to move to Winnipeg, and settling here and feeling home again,” said Nunes.

Nunes lives in River Heights and said Winnipeg already feels like home to him.

“The experience to come to Winnipeg, it’s awesome. Because it’s a great city, very friendly city. So we’re having great days here.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The experience to come to Winnipeg, it's awesome. Because it's a great city, very friendly city. So we're having great days here."

Adam said the company tries to do everything they can to ease the transition for foreign workers, including offering them condos when they first arrive.

SkipTheDishes started up in 2012 and has its headquarters in the Exchange District. There are about 1,700 Winnipeg employees.

The company has grown to serve over 100 North American cities and is the largest food delivery company in Canada, according to its website.