At job fairs, like the one being hosted by NS Job Works today (Wednesday) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Pictou County Wellness Centre, Janice Jorden often finds she’s representing one of the largest employers in the room.
Jorden is an employee relations specialist for Glen Haven Manor, the largest long-term care facility in Pictou County and the third largest in Nova Scotia. They employ almost 300 people.
“We have a variety of roles here,” Jorden said. “We do all our own services in house.”
The jobs involved in making the facility run are many, from the roles one would typically expect like continuing-care assistants and various nursing roles, but also includes roles like Red Seal chefs who cook the meals, maintenance workers, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dietitians, laundry workers and recreation staff. The age range of employees is from 14-year-olds who serve meals in the enriched housing portion of Glen Haven to nurses in their 70s. Often there are multigenerational family members or spouses who work together.
“It’s like a community within a community,” Jorden said.
By far the biggest demand the facility has is for continuing-care assistants and, with demand exceeding the number of graduates, Glen Haven actually runs its own training program complete with a clinical tutor. The second set of trainees will be graduating this fall.
The program is particularly well suited for people who might not be able to afford the cost of going to school to get the course. This way they can learn on the job.
There’s also many opportunities for employees to advance and learn new skills. Jorden herself started out as a summer dishwasher 21 years ago at Glen Haven. She later returned as Red Seal cook and then became nutritional services manager before moving into her current role.
“We build on people’s strengths,” she said.
As varied as the jobs may be, Jorden said there’s one thing she looks for in anyone she hires for Glen Haven – compassion. She said it’s important for all employees across the board whether they’re interacting with residents directly or indirectly.
“We look for that in every hire we do because they are working in the residents’ house. It’s a very unique field when you think about it.”
With an aging population, long-term care remains one of the quickest-growing areas of employment.
“The long-term care sector is expanding greatly across our province and country due to our aging population and facilities such as Glen Haven Manor are providing very important resident care,” said Lisa Smith, CEO of Glen Haven. “It takes many skills and areas of expertise to provide exceptional individualized quality long-term care and we are committed to an interdisciplinary approach.”
For those looking for professional and personal growth opportunities, she believes it’s worth considering.
“Long-term care is a rewarding and motivating choice and there are many opportunities awaiting right here in our own community.”
Want to go?
Pictou County 2018 Job Fair
10 a.m.-3 p.m. April 25 at the Pictou County Wellness Centre.
Hosted by Nova Scotia Works
Featuring: RCMP, Boston Pizza, Chignecto Central Regional School Board, Sobeys, Peace by Chocolate, Glen Haven Manor, RBC, HCRS, Northern Pulp, Divert NS, Nova Traffic Services, Safety First, High Gloss, Steel Pro, Northeastern NS Correctional Centre, web.com, Staples, Michelin, Zenabis, North Nova Seafoods, NSCC, Fox Habour, Careforce-Pictou County Home Health Care Service, OEITNS, 144 Construction Engineer Flight, Jane Norman College, Nova Scotia Health Authority, ISANS, Earth Angels, Randstad, Employment NS, CSC, NS Health Care Sector Council, Stright MacKay, Service Canada, Canadian Armed Forces, Crombie REIT and Pictou Lodge.
