Nalcor recruiting Lab West workers for Muskrat Falls

The vice-president of the Muskrat Falls project was in western Labrador to try and recruit skilled workers to come work on the mega-project.

Nalcor's Gilbert Bennett has made presentations in the Labrador City and Wabush area to pitch job opportunities before, but said things have changed.

And with the recent idling of the Wabush Mines by Cliffs Resources, there are more people who might be interested.

"Last November when we were here, we had about 50 people show up at out open house, but I think the employment situation here is very different," Bennett said.

According to Bennett, people working at the iron ore mines in the region already possess some of the skills necessary to work on the Muskrat Falls project.

"The trades in many cases are very similar. You have folks who use heavy equipment, folks who are driving large trucks, those are skills we will need in large numbers," he said.

"People who have their certification in those appropriate trades, we can employ them on the project.

Wabush Mayor Colin Vardy said the local College of the North Atlantic is offering to help people seeking employment.

Vardy said he's asking laid off workers to fill out assessment forms to help the college determine what kind of certification courses are needed in the area.

"It's very important that all workers get out, get down to the [Advanced Education and Skills] department, and not only go in there and tell them you need help with your resume, but also identify any skill sets that you currently have that you may not hold certification for," he said.

According to Vardy, there is a lot of help available to skilled workers who are unemployed, but the responsibility to seek it out is on the worker.