Canada's Top 100 Employers (2025) Magazine - Flipbook - Page 56
56
( 2025 )
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It’s full steam ahead for shipbuilding at Seaspan
J
amie Rogers, director of
talent and global mobility at
Seaspan ULC, is buoyed by his
employer’s bold nautical
mission. “In essence, the exciting
thing about us is that we are
re-energizing and rebuilding the
Canadian shipbuilding industry,”
says Rogers, who is based at Seaspan
Shipyards in North Vancouver, B.C.
“We’re creating a talent pool and
opportunities for Canadians to
design and build ships right here in
Canada.”
Rogers notes that under Canada’s
National Shipbuilding Strategy
(NSS), Seaspan is now the country’s
long-term, strategic partner for
building large, non-combat vessels
for the Royal Canadian Navy and the
Canadian Coast Guard.
“We’re creating a talent
pool and opportunities for
Canadians to design and build
ships right here in Canada.”
— Jamie Rogers
Director of
Talent and Global Mobility
Newer projects for the latter include
the recently launched Offshore
Oceanographic Science Vessel CCGS
Naalak Nappaaluk, which will support research on ocean currents and
the seabed in Atlantic Canada, and
a new Canadian polar icebreaker,
which is expected to be completed
in 2030 and will support multiple
missions for the Canadian Coast
Guard, year-round, in the North.
As a result of its NSS-related
activities, Seaspan Shipyards has
contributed $5.7 billion to Canada’s
gross domestic product since 2012,
Rogers adds.
Seaspan also carries out repairs
and retrofits for large commercial
cruise ships and BC Ferries, doing
so at its Victoria Shipyards and
Vancouver Drydock. Another
division of the company, Seaspan
Marine Transportation, operates
fleets of tugboats, barges and ferries
that provide ship assistance and
escort services, and transports
materials for B.C.’s largest industries.
All that activity has engendered
“the creation of a significant talent
pool,” says Rogers. “We have a variety
of programs that come together to do
that, starting at the student level with
our internship programs, graduate
development, rotational programs
and then strong talent-development
programs and career pathways.
So, there are opportunities for our
employees to acquire skills, develop
and move into other areas. One
example is the Vancouver Shipyard’s
Welding Centre of Excellence, where
apprentices have the opportunity to
receive hands-on training.”
The benefits of working at
Seaspan also feature a progressive
work environment that includes
initiatives for health, safety and
diversity (the company supports
several employee resource groups);
support for families including child
care, scholarships and summer job
placements for employees’ children;
gym access for all full-time employees; and a generous relocation
package for eligible positions. Rogers
also cites Seaspan Shipyard’s annual
$5,000 mental health benefit.
As well, he notes, Seaspan is a
dynamic organization: “We’re open
to change and encourage feedback
Employees at Seaspan ULC celebrate shipbuilding in action at the
keel laying event for the organization’s Joint Support Ship.
from employees.” The organization
holds regular town halls in which
people are encouraged to suggest
changes to Seaspan’s operations, and
the leadership group is very
encouraging of that mentality,
he says. “We ensure everyone's
voice is heard and great ideas are
considered.”
For Mark Condon, all those perks
help make his time at Seaspan
Shipyards as a senior environmental
specialist rewarding. But the
critical nature of his role – making
sure that the company adheres to
rules ensuring it avoids negative
environmental impacts, such as spills
– is what really galvanizes him. “It’s
a necessary operation,” he says, “but
$
5,000
mental health coverage per year
it’s something we’re very proud of.”
He notes that Seaspan has provided him with various courses and
sent him to conferences, including
Green Marine in Halifax, where he’s
learned about, “where the industry is
going in terms of its understanding
and reducing its environmental
impacts and what are the new,
alternative ways of doing business
that are cleaner.”
Among the Seaspan tasks Condon
organizes is an annual cleanup of
a B.C. Lower Mainland shoreline –
another such cleanup takes place in
Victoria. “It’s a nice little morning,”
he says, “especially when you see
the impact that we made on the
shoreline as a team.” ¢
compassionate leave top-up pay
THE FUTURE IS YOURS TO BUILD
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