The Canadian National Railway is going on a hiring spree, and Jasper will see more jobs because of it.
The rail company is in the process of “replenishing [its] workforce,” as a result of a combination of an increase in business and long-time employees retiring.
CN has a long history in Jasper, and has always been an important economic driver for the town.
And according to Brent Kossey, the company’s manager of government and stakeholder relations, a higher-than-average number of new positions will open up in Jasper in 2015.
Kossey said that CN is looking to hire at least 500 new conductors in Western Canada in 2015, and roughly 20–30 of those will be in Jasper.
On Dec. 16, CN’s website listed 31 jobs available in Alberta, with one vacancy in Jasper.
Kossey noted that “the company is growing at a nice clip,” thanks to more business shipping intermodal containers.
Intermodal shipping containers, or “sea cans,” as they’re more commonly known, are shipping containers that can be taken directly from a ship and plopped on a train.
Their worldwide use has increased recently, because “you can put anything in them—any dry good,” and CN’s growth is due partly to that increase.
Kossey explained that CN doesn’t really produce multi-year hiring plans, and doesn’t keep data on the breakdown of new hires due to retirements or growing business.
He was unable to project whether the “healthy growth” the company is experiencing will last, but pointed to a steady stock price as indication of CN’s health.
Trevor Nichols
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