Mount Washington holding job fair ahead of winter season
One of Vancouver Island’s largest private employers is on the hunt for new talent and is looking to hire a significant number of new workers this weekend.
“It’s quite amazing, we staff up to 800 employees, so that’s about a 700 increase,” says Cam Thickett, employee experience manager with Mount Washington Alpine Resort.
“We have a lot of returning employees each year we’re very grateful for however we’re always looking for new faces and people willing and ready to come up and enjoy the mountain experience.”
Each year, the mountain participates in a job fair to seek recruits. This time around, it will be holding one on Sunday.
“We just want to meet you,” Thickett says. “We want to hear what you’re interested in doing with us and why Mount Washington? Why do you want to be part of the community here?”
Resort managers know that aside from the paycheque, employees are also interested in working on the mountain because of the free skiing and snowboarding.
“It’s such a fun place to work, really,” says marketing manager Kayla Stockton.
“You’ll like being outside, getting out on the snow. Even if you’re not a skier or a snowboarder, there’s plenty of job opportunities for you up here at Mount Washington, but of course it’s one of the best perks is getting the season’s pass access to everything we have going on up here.”
While many job sectors are experiencing problems recruiting workers, the resort says it’s not having the same difficulties, with the exception of one area.
“We are struggling to find qualified food and beverage staff, so if anybody’s interested, we have a great operation here with great tips in the winter,” Thickett says.
Employees like lift and tube park manager Jenn Macklin say along with the perks, employment at the mountain also offers a great team atmosphere.
“We do team-building activities during training, we like to have trivia nights just to build the team feeling, we do soccer nights, we try to get together as often as we can,” Macklin says. “Obviously, with the pandemic, it is kind of difficult, but we want to help each other out if we can.”
Thickett estimates 10 per cent of the resort’s employees are from international sources, but most are from the local area, Vancouver Island and elsewhere in the province.
“We have a lot of people travelling across the country to come and spend a winter here on Vancouver Island,” he says.
The job fair takes place on Sunday, Oct. 17, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Comox Valley Visitors Centre.
Information on employment can also be found on the company’s website. www.mountwashington.ca
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.