DND job fair attracts hundreds as Base Gagetown prepares for growth - CBC
Dozens of people looking for job opportunities attended the Department of National Defence job fair in Fredericton. (Shane Fowler/CBC News)Social SharingBase Gagetown is looking to hire dozens of civilians for a variety of new jobs.
Cooks, nurses, firefighters, mechanics, teachers — those are few of the dozens of civilian jobs the Department of National Defence is trying to fill as 5th Canadian Support Base Gagetown begins upgrading and expanding.
And to do so, it hosted a job fair at The Cultural Centre in downtown Fredericton that saw a long line of hopeful applicants spill into the parking lot.
"I feel like there's a lot of good opportunities here," said Cameron Claybourn-Scott, who had been first in line with his resume. "I'm here just to get a job through one of our services. I currently work on the base, but my term is coming up, so I'm just trying to put the feelers out there for a different job."
He said he gravitated towards the positions offered with the Coast Guard.
Cameron Claybourn-Scott was first in line at the Department of National Defecee job fair in Fredericton. (Shane Fowler/CBC)
Ethan Trevors, who has finished three years of computer science at the University of New Brunswick, walked away from the event feeling good about his chances despite the long lines and packed venue.
"I'm looking mostly for IT jobs," said Trevors. "So I gave my resume, talked with a few people, apparently I'm in high demand, so I'm glad about that."
These new positions come as Ottawa spends more than $1 billion on the base to expand, upgrade and modernize Gagetown's training area, range and defence systems. Federal money has also been earmarked for building additional housing in the communities near the base.
The job fair aimed to gather prospective employees for civilian positions with preference given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents, according to the department.
"The event is meant to raise awareness of civilian career opportunities, connect potential candidates with hiring representatives, and showcase employment opportunities across a range of occupational groups," said Kened Sadiku, Department of National Defence spokesperson in an email to CBC News.
"Over the last year, the Government of Canada has moved at unprecedented speed and scale to deliver on its plan to rebuild, rearm and reinvest in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). As a result, the Department of National Defence (DND) is in a period of growth."
CBC News requested an interview with the Defence Department about the hiring but was told that an interview on the topic was not possible.
The department was also not able to state how many positions it was hiring for.
An online event flyer for the fair listed the following positions being sought by the federal government for base operations.
Shane Fowler has been a CBC journalist based in Fredericton since 2013.
