The work we hire for

Clinics and healthcare

We recruit for clinics and health employers, and help licensed doctors and nurses find work here.

Typical jobs: family doctor, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, clinic reception.

What you need: doctors must be licensed by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia, and nurses by the Nova Scotia College of Nursing, before they can work. Doctors also need a position approved by Nova Scotia Health or the IWK. We do not issue licences or approvals, or speed them up.

Care homes

Long-term care and home care need people who are patient and dependable, on day, evening and night shifts.

Typical jobs: continuing care assistant, home support worker, dietary and housekeeping staff.

What you need: a CCA (Continuing Care Assistant) certificate. Nova Scotia nursing homes and home care agencies require one, and working CCAs must join the provincial CCA Registry. Current first aid and CPR help too.

Banking and office

Banks, credit unions, accounting offices and local businesses hire for front counter and back office work.

Typical jobs: bank teller, customer service, bookkeeper, administrative assistant, receptionist.

Employers look for computer skills and good written English.

Truck drivers

Farm and seafood products leave the province by truck, and fleets here are always looking for safe drivers.

Typical jobs: Class 1 long-haul driver, Class 3 local driver, delivery driver.

What you need: a clean driver's abstract and an air brake endorsement.

Landscaping

Landscaping crews work from April to November. Many companies keep people on for snow clearing in the winter.

Typical jobs: landscape labourer, crew lead, equipment operator.

Construction

Housing is being built across the province, and builders need labourers as much as skilled trades.

Typical jobs: general labourer, carpenter, apprentice, site cleanup.

What you need: fall protection training, which the law requires for work above 3 metres, and WHMIS training.

Dairy farms

Cows are milked two or three times a day, every day, so dairy jobs are steady and year-round.

Typical jobs: milker, herd worker, calf care, general farm hand.

Experience with cattle or milking equipment helps. Expect early mornings and weekend shifts.

Chicken and egg farms

Broiler barns and laying hens both need daily care. Farms keep strict cleaning rules to protect the flock, and every worker follows them.

Typical jobs: barn worker, egg collector and grader, loading crew.

Apple orchards

Picking runs through September and October, mostly in the Annapolis Valley. Pruning, thinning and packing-house work fill much of the rest of the year.

Typical jobs: picker, pruner, packing-house worker, orchard tractor driver.

You need to be comfortable on a ladder.

Wild blueberries

The harvest is short and busy, from August into September, mostly in Cumberland County.

Typical jobs: hand raker, harvester operator, field crew, receiving station worker.

Growers want people who can stay for the whole harvest.

Vineyards

Annapolis Valley wineries, including those in the Gaspereau Valley, hire extra hands for the grape harvest from late September into November, and keep smaller crews for pruning and vine work.

Typical jobs: harvest picker, pruner, vineyard hand, cellar help.

Field and general farm work

Mixed farms, vegetable growers and greenhouses need help with planting, haying and harvest, and with the equipment that does it.

Typical jobs: farm labourer, equipment operator, greenhouse worker.

Tractor experience and a driver's licence open up more of these jobs.

Lobster and fishing crews

In Southwest Nova Scotia the season opens on the last Monday of November, weather permitting, and runs to the end of May. Other areas fish at other times of year.

Typical jobs: deckhand, crew member, bait and gear work.

What you need: every deckhand needs a Transport Canada marine safety course, Small Domestic Vessel Basic Safety (formerly MED A3), within their first six months at sea.

Seafood processing

Plants along the coast process lobster, snow crab, scallops, herring and groundfish. They are busiest when the boats are landing the most.

Typical jobs: filleter, grader, packer, sanitation crew, forklift operator.

Food safety training and knife skills help. The rooms are cold and the work is on your feet.

Wharf and harbour work

Buyers, lobster pounds and gear shops hire around the fleet, mostly in the weeks the season opens and closes.

Typical jobs: wharf labourer, lobster pound worker, gear and trap repair, truck loading.

Work starts before sunrise, so you need your own way to the wharf.