Amazon embarks on hiring blitz as Vancouver Island distribution centre to open next month

Amazon says it needs 100 to 150 positions filled by mid to late October when its Sidney, B.C., distribution centre is expected to open. (CTV News)

Amazon is about to go on a hiring blitz as it prepares to open its new Vancouver Island warehouse in Sidney, B.C.

The retail giant says it needs 100 to 150 positions filled by mid to late October when the distribution centre is expected to open.

Wages begin around $19 per hour, plus health and dental benefits.

Amazon Canada spokesperson Dave Bauer says the company is hiring full-time and part-time positions with varying shifts, day or night.

"There’s a lot of jobs for retirees and students," says Bauer. "It’s really the gamut of what you are looking for. If you are looking for a job to get fit and pack boxes and want to keep in shape and put those onto trucks, we’ve got those for you. If you’re looking, maybe a little bit more knowledge-based jobs, like help planning logistics, we’ve got those open as well."

Bauer says employees have plenty of opportunity to grow within the company as well.

A free shuttle service will be available for Amazon employees, with pickup locations in downtown Victoria, at the Tillicum Mall, and the intersection of McKenzie Avenue and Quadra Street.

Basic qualifications for employment are high school education or an equivalent diploma.

Amazon says many of its entry-level employees eventually become leaders in operations, human resources, and other areas.