When immigrating to Canada, newcomers often consider a career change. Especially when uprooting yourself from everything you know and love and arriving in a land with new people, cultures and possibilities. While reinventing your life, why not also reinvent your career? Marine-based industries can be a career change to consider in Canada.
Linda Ryan is the National Program Manager with BCCA-Integrating Newcomers, a government funded, Canada-wide, pre-arrival career coaching service for high skilled construction professionals immigrating to Canada (*BCCA-IN). A career and certified performance coach, she and the BCCA-IN team specialise in helping newcomers plan for, and achieve, employment success, no matter what city or province they are moving to.
When it comes to job searching in Canada, Ryan works closely with newcomers who are eager to continue their careers in Canada. Ryan also provides ideas on alternative careers and companies that are hiring across Canada. In this article, we asked her about interesting roles that newcomers could consider in the marine industry.
I could dedicate an entire article to the pros and cons of a complete career change. I’ve successfully done it myself and regularly help clients take small steps to morph themselves into something else.
Linda Ryan
Marine-Based Industries in Canada
Ryan discussed three organizations for those with a love of water. So if you want a career in a marine-based industry, explore these exciting options.
Protect and Serve in the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG)
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The CCG welcomes all and is actively recruiting. Formed in 1962, the CCG operates the federal government’s civilian fleet and provides maritime services to Canadians. For example, the coast guard provides:
- Navigation aids
- Marine search and rescue
- Icebreaking services
- Marine communications and traffic services
- Scientific research
- Marine pollution response, and
- Support for other government initiatives.
The CCG is responsible for the longest coastline of any country. It also ensures the safety of international commercial ships and Canadian citizens who navigate our lakes and oceans.
This marine-based industry operates over 100 vessels and 20+ helicopters, along with a variety of smaller craft. And, there’s a myriad of cool jobs available. Everything from on-call lighthouse keepers, search and rescue technicians, deckhands, engineering operatives, and base operations personnel. So, if you have a love of the water, are English or French proficient and have an aptitude for technical, mechanical, IT, electronics and electrical stuff; this could be an adventure for you. Oh, by the way, the Coast Guard also has its own college. And, the CCG will pay for your entire education and offer you a job afterwards! Learn about the Canadian Coast Guard College.
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Swim with the Fishes at Mowi
You don’t actually get to swim with the fish! But, you could be a fisheries technician, trainee deckhand, farm or feed manager. “Leading the Blue Revolution” and the future of seafood is Mowi. This global company works with the ocean to produce seafood. Mowi’s Canadian operation has salmon farms off the British Columbia coast. And, it employs 600 staff to help produce 45,000 tonnes of sustainable farm-raised Atlantic salmon each year to ship around the world.
This may be something to consider if you have some fisheries or water experience (pleasure or commercial) and want to protect the environment. Because if you do, you could work on any of the hundreds of off-shore farms around Vancouver Island. Learn more about jobs in this marine-based industry here.
Be a First Responder in this Marine-Based Industry with WCMRC
Western Canada Marine Response Corporation (WCMRC) offers roles as:
- Spill response technicians
- Marine engineers
- Deckhands, and
- Operations staff (HR, IT, operations, etc).
It is the only Transport Canada marine response organization on Canada’s West Coast.
WCMRC is industry-funded with more than 2,300 members that include oil-handling facilities, barging companies, freighters, ferries, cruise ships, and others. If you like being outdoors, on the water and can get basic commercial marine/boating short courses under your belt, a world of opportunities awaits you. Learn about jobs here.
Learn More about BCCA-IN
*The BCCA-Integrating Newcomers program is a free, pre-arrival, Canada-wide service, focused on helping high-skilled newcomers explore and build successful construction careers. Services include one-on-one career guidance, tailored resume, cover letter, LinkedIn advice, and an in-depth skills and education assessment to help newcomers focus on the best career, credentials and connections activities. The Integrating Newcomers team not only has multi-industry experience but are also immigrants who have built successful careers in Canada.
