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JOBPOSTINGS.CA MARCH 2014 | VOL. 16 NO.6 CAREERS. EDUCATION. IDEAS. ALL OF IT.

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Canada's largest career lifestyle magazine for students.

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Page 1: Jobpostings Magazine: March 2014 Vol. 16 No. 6

JOBPOSTINGS.CAMARCH 2014 | VOL. 16 NO.6 CAREERS. EDUCATION. IDEAS. ALL OF IT.

Page 2: Jobpostings Magazine: March 2014 Vol. 16 No. 6

JOBPOSTINGS.CA | MARCH 2014

CONTINUE YOUR EDUCATION IN BUSINESS; EVENINGS, WEEKENDS, ON-CAMPUS,ONLINE, ON YOUR TIME.

CONTINUING EDUCATIONbusiness.humber.ca/ce

Page 3: Jobpostings Magazine: March 2014 Vol. 16 No. 6

MARCH 2014 | JOBPOSTINGS.CA

THE FRONT PAGESTABLE OF CONTENTS

17

19

12

30

16

THE FRONT PAGES06 CRUNCHIN’ NUMBERS Wondering what the eco-industry looks like in Canada? Here are the facts, in numbers.

10 INTERVIEw TIPS Leighton T. Healey, vice-president of Col-lege Pro, asks and answers “Starting with your first memory, take 10–15 minutes and tell me your life story.”

12 STARTUP Rebecca Cotter, founder of Water on Wheels, discusses finding her entrepreneur-ial spirit and working with green initiatives.

CAREER REPORTS15 GREENGINEERS Working green isn’t just planting a tree. Green engineers are focusing on sustainable design and projects to lay environmentally friendly groundwork in companies.

16 BUSINESS IN THE TREES The forestry industry isn’t just for lumber-jacks. Business, IT, engineering, marketing, and everything in between are involved in this complex forest.

17 THE COMPOSTING COMMUNITy With overflowing landfills across the globe, waste management is more important than ever. Helping the green movement in this way could be your unsuspecting yet fulfilling career.

FEATURES19 ECO-STARS Although most companies have green initia-tives, there are some that are true leaders in sustainability. Here are eight examples of eco-leaders across Canada.

26 wORkING IN PARADISE Remote work isn’t for everyone; you have to be adventurous and ready to challenge yourself. We take a look at the rewards of working on remote islands, as well as remote resorts here in Canada.

EDUCATION29 LEARNING TOURISM The tourism industry is changing from excessive waste to global sustainability. Find out how programs are teaching tourism professionals to be eco-friendly.

30 THE GREENEST EDUCATION If you’re feeling especially passionate about the environment and want to help go to the green side, these postgrads are for you.

THE BACk PAGES35 THE SALARy REPORT Green careers can pay the bills. Here’s a look at a bunch of salaries in the industry, from entry-level to career average.

26

3601

Page 4: Jobpostings Magazine: March 2014 Vol. 16 No. 6

JOBPOSTINGS.CA | MARCH 2014

THE FRONT PAGES AD INDEX

INDEX

Published by Passion Inc. 25 Imperial Street, Suite 100 Toronto, ON M5P 1B9

jobpostings.ca 1-877-900-5627 ext. 221

Jobpostings Magazine is published eight times in the school year. Copies of jobpostings are distributed to over 105 universities and colleges across Canada. Contents of this publication are protected by copyright and may not be reprinted in whole or part without permission of the publishers.

“We won’t have a society if we destroy the environment.” — Margaret Mead

PUBLISHER NATHAN LAuRIE [email protected]

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER MARk LAuRIE [email protected]

COMMUNICATIONS AND PROJECT MANAGER DAvID TAL [email protected] @DavidTalWrites

EDITOR JAMES MICHAEL MCDONALD [email protected] @mcjamdonald

ART DIRECTOR ANTHONy CAPANO [email protected]

STAFF wRITER MEGAN SANTOS [email protected] @megnifisantos

DEVELOPER MISHRAz AHMAD BHOuNR [email protected]

CONTRIBUTORS Heidi Murphy

SENIOR NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGER MARy vANDERPAS

NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGER MIRELLE SHIMONOv

EDUCATION ACCOUNT MANAGER SHANNON TRACEy

COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR JAMIE BERTOLINI

Photos from thinkstock.com are used throughout this issue; individual artists have been credited.

wHOSHIRING02 Nav Canada

03 College Pro

05 Target

08 Home Depot

34 College Pro

SCHOOLINDEXIFC Humber, The Business School, undergrad

07 Humber, The Business School, Event Management

11 Humber, The Business School, Advertising Management

14 St. George’s university

18 Forest Products Association of Canada

25 St. George’s university

28 American university of the Caribbean

31 Conestoga College

32 Queen’s university

32 American university of the Caribbean

32 uC Berkeley Master of Engineering

32 Sheridan College

32 university of Lethbridge

32 vancouver Island university

32 Dalhousie university

32 Ross university, School of Medicine

32 Conestoga College

32 Brock university

36 Humber, The Business School, Postgrad

OBC Humber, The Business School, undergrad

GENERALADS33 Canadian youth Business Foundation

33 Insurance Institute of Canada

IBC Rogers Wireless

02

Learn more and take charge at www.takecharge.navcanada.ca

Up for a challenge?

Have what it takes to become an

AIR TRAFFICCONTROLLER?

Air traffic controllers combine quick thinking and foresight to keep aircraft at a safe distance as they take off and land at the country’s busiest airports and during the enroute portion of a flight. They do their job from airport control towers and area control centres across the country.

We’re looking for individuals who have good judgement, great information processing skills and who have an interest in aviation. We offer exciting careers with great pay, great benefits and a great future.

No experience is necessary - we offer complete training.

Page 5: Jobpostings Magazine: March 2014 Vol. 16 No. 6

LEARN BUSINESS SKILLS THAT SCHOOL WON’T TEACH YOU COLLEGE PRO IS TRAINING FUTURE BUSINESS OWNERS

VISIT COLLEGEPRO.CA/APPLY

Page 6: Jobpostings Magazine: March 2014 Vol. 16 No. 6

JOBPOSTINGS.CA | MARCH 2014

THE FRONT PAGES EDITOR’S NOTE

Climate change skeptics confuse me.

Let me preface this by saying I believe

that climate change is a legitimate thing.

I think there’s enough evidence around

us that allows us to make that educated

assumption. That said, I don’t mind that

people question it, just as people should

question everything. Eventually (and

hopefully), we’ll all come to the same con-

clusion, once the questions have ended.

However, I don’t understand the hesita-

tion—real climate change or not—to help

each other and the planet.

We know that certain things are not good:

high carbon emissions, clear-cutting with-

out reforestation, etc. If for no other rea-

sons, we know these things are bad for

human health and that we are removing

things on Earth that probably can’t be

replenished. So we know there are things

we do that aren’t great, but we continue

to do them.

Luckily, there are many of us that see the

need to alter our ways and do their part

to change our fate. Companies are adapt-

ing more and more to the changing times,

more aware of their ecological footprint.

Mediacorp even has a Canada’s Greenest

Employers competition, rewarding those

that are leading the way in environmental

initiatives.

Every year, we produce a green issue to

showcase people and companies that are

going the extra mile to do just that. Indus-

try leaders, entrepreneurs, middle manag-

ers—all doing their part.

In our feature, we talk to people from all

levels of organizations working with en-

vironmental initiatives. We find out how companies are thriving while still being as sustainable as possible.

Green startups are hot investment oppor-tunities these days, solving problems while promoting their ecological mandates. Re-becca Cotter of Water on Wheels weighs in on the sustainable business movement and tells us why her innovative idea is growing exponentially.

We also ask questions about green careers in all sorts of fields: What does it mean to be a green engineer? Are there business or technology jobs in forestry? What is composting, why is it important, and what careers are available?

And the opportunities don’t end in Can-ada, either. For nomadic types, there are

possibilities on remote islands, from start-ing businesses to working at resorts, all the while experiencing a new environment and promoting sustainability in your own way.

Take a read through our pages—made with recycled paper, by the way—and hopefully you’ll be inspired to take a step to help those around you, as well as future genera-tions, through your career aspirations.

Happy reading!

IT’S OUR RESPONSIBILITy

From the desk of James Michael McDonald

04

Page 7: Jobpostings Magazine: March 2014 Vol. 16 No. 6

target.ca/careersAPPLY TODAY

OF COURSE

MY FOLLOWERS THINK SO

THINK YOU GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A LEADER?

EXPAND YOURSOCIAL NETWORKAND WORK WITH OURAWESOME TEAM

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Hellosuccessful

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Ready for your first career? We found it.

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AND WEHAVE JOBS FOR PEOPLE

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© 2014 Target Brands, Inc. Target and the Bullseye Design are registered trademarks of Target Brands, Inc.

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AND YOU’RE AT THETOP OF THE CLASS

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JOIN OUR TEAM.EXPECT THE BEST.

Page 8: Jobpostings Magazine: March 2014 Vol. 16 No. 6

JOBPOSTINGS.CA | MARCH 2014

06

THE FRONT PAGES CRuNCHIN’ NuMBERS

CRUNCHIN’ NUMBERSThis month, we’re thinking green. Many companies across Canada are implementing green practices and more individuals

are becoming environmentally conscious. Here are some stats on the competitive edge businesses have when they go green.

Words Megan Santos // Illustrations Anthony Capano

REDUCESENVIRONMENTAL

IMPACT

PROTECTSENVIRONMENTAL

MANDATE

HOUSESENVIRONMENTAL

CONSULTANTS

IS ARECYCLINGBUSINESS

ENERGYMANAGEMENT

BUSINESS

WASTEDISPOSALBUSINESS

REASONS WHY COMPANIES IDENTIFY THEMSELVES AS “GREEN”

17% OF CANADIAN COMPANIES HIRE ENVIRONMENTAL

PROFESSIONALS.

CANADA’S CLEAN-TECHNOLOGY SECTOR IS MADE UP OF OVER 700 COMPANIES NATIONWIDE.

IN A 2013 SURVEY, OF THE TOP 100 GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE

COMPANIES, 10 WERE CANADIAN.

21% 17% 15%

11% 10% 10%

OVER 50%OF GLOBAL

CONSUMERSPREFER TO BUY

FROM COMPANIESWITH STRONG

ENVIRONMENTALREPUTATIONS.

CANADA GENERATES $29 BILLION FROM GREEN JOBS AND BUSINESSES ANNUALLY.

Page 9: Jobpostings Magazine: March 2014 Vol. 16 No. 6

POSTGRADUATE CERTIFICATE

FROM TRADE SHOWS TO WEDDINGS TO

CULTURAL FESTIVALS, THIS PROGRAM

OFFERS THE UNIQUE SKILLS YOU WILL NEED

TO LAUNCH YOUR CAREER AS AN EVENT

COORDINATOR, SPECIAL EVENTS ORGANIZER,

ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE, CORPORATE

MEETING PLANNER AND MANY OTHER

EXCITING CAREER OPTIONS.

business.humber.ca/postgrad

Page 10: Jobpostings Magazine: March 2014 Vol. 16 No. 6

THE FRONT PAGES THE HOME DEPOT

“More saving, More doing.”We’ve all heard that Home Depot slogan before, and “more saving, more doing” is precisely the company’s culture when it comes to implementing sustainability practices throughout the business. By reducing energy, emissions and waste, the company can “save more” and, by enabling their associates through training and education, the com-pany can “do more” too. The Home Depot Canada’s sus-tainability strategy focuses on three key pillars: operations, products, and associates.

sustainable operationsThe operations pillar targets the Home Depot Canada’s stores and distribution centres across the country. “We look at projects to reduce our energy consumption, projects to reduce our emissions, and projects that deal with waste,” says Jamie-son Saab, one of two managers of environmen-tal programs at The Home Depot Canada, adding that recycling is a huge component of the waste reduction practiced in stores.

Reducing energy at The Home Depot starts with light bulbs. “That’s a key focus for us,” says Saab. “Last year, we actually switched out 1,900 lamps across Canada.” As for cut-ting emissions in the distribution process, the Home Depot Canada implemented turnpike double trucks in BC. “It’s a tractor-trailer that pulls two trucks instead of one. In addition, those trucks consume liquid natural gas, a cleaner form of energy,” he says. “Turnpike doubles create approximately 45 per cent fewer emissions per shipment than a regular single-trailer truck.”

sustainable productsFocusing on the products pillar, The Home Depot carries about 2,500 environmentally friendly products in its as-sortment. Called Eco-Options, Saab says the products “are better environmental alternatives—so products that con-serve energy or water when you compare them to standard products.” With 84 per cent of consumers expressing their care for the environment and sustainability, bringing Eco-

Options products to stores gives eco-conscious individuals the opportunity to choose from products that best represent their values.

“The products change regularly as we are constantly look-ing to add innovative new offerings for our customers,” says Saab. Eco-Options products are energy efficient, con-

serve water, improve indoor air quality, or come from sustainably managed forests.

sustainable associatesAside from managing environmen-tally preferable products and util-ity rebate campaigns, Saab and his colleagues also contribute to associate strategies. “My colleague Joanna Caners and I work with a lot of different parts of the business from marketing to supply chain

to merchandising, to help them bring an environmental lens

to what they are working on,” he says. “We help them understand how their decisions today will impact tomorrow. We work very closely with those groups to develop

business cases for their projects that reduce energy, waste, water, and

a l s o measure those impacts from an environmental

standpoint.”

the sustainability Mandate

opportunity for us to do things that are innovative and to reduce our impact on the environment,” answers Saab, “but in many cases, the sustainability projects that we imple-ment also have a positive impact on our business.”

Sustainability has been linked to our corporate values since The Home Depot first went into business. “I’m sure you’ve been to a Home Depot and you’ve seen the orange aprons our associates wear” says Saab. “On every apron there is what’s called a value wheel. It’s a little circle we wear over our hearts.” Two of those values, he says, are “doing the right thing” and “entrepreneurial spirit,” which, in turn, embody our approach to sustainability.

SUSTAINABILITy AT THE HOME DEPOT CANADAHow The Home Depot is running one of the biggest home improvement companies with the environment in mind.

“wE LOOk AT PROJECTS TO REDUCE OUR ENERGy

CONSUMPTION, PROJECTS TO REDUCE OUR EMISSIONS,

AND PROJECTS THAT DEAL wITH wASTE.”

Why did The Home Depot go green? “It’s an

JOBPOSTINGS.CA | MARCH 2014

08

Page 11: Jobpostings Magazine: March 2014 Vol. 16 No. 6

I’ve got the energy to help people.And the power to make a difference.

– Anna, Home Depot Associate

Because working here is about more than helping customers choose the right product. It’s about making a difference in their lives and their homes. We call it “unleashing your inner orange” and it’s my ability to tap into my inner potential to help customers create a space worth calling home.

Working at The Home Depot gives me the training and support I need to help customers plan projects from beginning to end. I take pride in knowing about all of the products and services we offer—and exactly how to suggest them to bring home improvement ideas to life.

That’s the power of The Home Depot.

We are committed to diversity as an equal opportunity employer.

Learn how tapping into your inner potential has the ability to help yourself and others. Apply online at homedepot.ca/9174 and discover how you can unleash your inner orange!

We are committed to diversity as an equal opportunity employer.

Page 12: Jobpostings Magazine: March 2014 Vol. 16 No. 6

JOBPOSTINGS.CA | MARCH 2014

OUR qUESTION THIS ISSUE:

STARTING WITH yOuR FIRST MEMORy, TAkE

10–15 MINuTES AND TELL ME yOuR LIFE STORy.

PLEASE INCLuDE ALL THE uPS AND DOWNS, PIvOTAL

AND FORMATIvE EXPERIENCES, AND HOW yOuR FAMILy PLAyS INTO

yOuR STORy.

This question requires a candidate do a lot of work and reveal to me, the interviewer, a plethora of personal information. For starters, most candidates will never an-ticipate a question like this and I’m able to learn a great deal from their reaction to the question. A guarded response tells as much as a gushing fountain. Specifically, when this question is supported by prob-ing questions with genuine curiosity, an interviewer can get a pulse on whether a candidate externalizes blame, takes own-ership of setbacks, craves community, dis-likes authority, works well with teams, and had a quality nurturing experience.

This question helps me gauge how intro-spective the candidate is, meaning how apt they are at reflecting on their role in

DO INTERVIEwS MAkE yOU SwEAT?Our HR connections and recruitment friends on the inside let you know what they ask and

exactly what they want to hear.

the world around them, a key indicator of receptiveness to feedback and input from a supervisor. It also allows an interviewer to gauge the candidate’s self-confidence, ability to overcome obstacles, and wheth-er they truly are the sum of the magnifi-cent words they used on their resumé.

An interviewer knows their company’s culture, its needs and priorities. Through active listening and getting a full sense of the candidate as a person, questions like this allow an interviewer to weigh a wealth of real information against what they know of their organization and ul-timately make a decision of whether this person would be able to align with the tra-jectory and groove with the resonance of the organization.

LEIGHTON T. HEALEyvICE-PRESIDENT

COLLEGE PRO

An appropriate way to respond to this question is to respond honestly and fully. An interviewer asking this question is not looking for a perfect nuclear family, high school valedictorian response. The in-terviewer wants to get to know you—the real you. It’s not about getting a job; it’s about succeeding in a career. Trust the in-terviewer, show your true human colours, dive into your passions, share some real obstacles you’ve had to face, and let the interviewer do their job.

If you take this advice, I can’t guarantee that you’ll get the job but I will guarantee that you will be a memorable candidate in a sea of applicants, and standing out is a great first step.

THE FRONT PAGES INTERvIEW TIPS

10

Page 13: Jobpostings Magazine: March 2014 Vol. 16 No. 6

POSTGRADUATE CERTIFICATE

FROM MEDIA PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT

TO ACCOUNT COORDINATION AND SALES,

THIS PROGRAM OFFERS THE UNIQUE SKILLS

YOU WILL NEED TO LAUNCH YOUR CAREER

AS ACCOUNT COORDINATOR, MEDIA SALES

REPRESENTATIVE, MEDIA BUYER, MEDIA

PLANNER, AND MANY OTHER EXCITING

CAREER OPTIONS.

business.humber.ca/postgrad

Page 14: Jobpostings Magazine: March 2014 Vol. 16 No. 6

JOBPOSTINGS.CA | MARCH 2014

THE FRONT PAGES STARTuP

Rebecca Cotter wasn’t always an entrepreneur.

In grade 11, she took a class on building your own business and said to herself “I’m never going to do this.” She left the class think-ing she would never be a business owner.

Rebecca worked as the outdoor event coordinator for Downsview Park in Toronto, an open space for concerts and large-scale events. Quickly, she began to see a problem that needed a solution.

“I was standing outside in a field every weekend all summer pro-ducing festivals and concerts,” she says. “At the end of the night, I was standing amongst tons and tons of garbage. It only takes so long to identify that the overwhelming feature in the garbage is half-consumed plastic bottles.” She knew her staff were being paid to clean up this waste, that dumpster service was coming out of her budget, and that there had to be a better way.

And that’s when the entrepreneurial itch came to her.

Rebecca started Water on Wheels, a portable water station to hy-

drate concert goers, marathon participants, and other outdoor event participants.

“Water on Wheels provides mobile water refill stations to special events both indoor and outdoor,” she says, adding that they’re at over 100 events every year. “Our stations are stainless steel stations that connect to a continuous flow water source, which means the stations themselves don’t hold any water—there’s no reservoir in-side. We connect to something like a fire hydrant or a regular hose faucet to receive continuous flow water. The water goes through our stations, it’s charcoal-filtered and chilled, and then users with their reusable bottles come up to the refill faucets on the station and self-serve.”

The idea is simple enough, and is saving countless tonnes of gar-bage at each event. Rebecca says that businesses with an environ-mentally conscious mandate are important but can be more dif-ficult to keep afloat.

“If you have a sustainable mandate like Water on Wheels, we’re

wATER, wATER EVERywHERE!Rebecca Cotter provides more environmentally sound refreshments to events with Water on Wheels.

(2 colour - Pantone 295C, Pantone 298C)

(1 colour - Pantone 295C)

(1 colour, reversed out - white)

Pantone 295C

Pantone 298C

Water_on_Wheels_295C_298C_FIN.eps

(sample)

12

Page 15: Jobpostings Magazine: March 2014 Vol. 16 No. 6

MARCH 2014 | JOBPOSTINGS.CA

there to keep people hydrated but more significantly we’re there to decrease the presence of commercially packaged bottles of water,” she says. While some businesses can just focus on the bottom dol-lar, others have work that will cut into profits, with good reason.

“Certainly Water on Wheels is not a get-rich-quick scheme and I don’t think any sustainable model of business would be,” says Rebecca. “I would suggest there are probably others, like the ones on Shark Tank or Dragons’ Den, who are more fiscally focused.”

That said, this doesn’t mean environmentally focused startups can’t be successful. Water on Wheels is coming up on its fourth summer in operation and has experienced exponential growth, meaning more water stations, more trailers, more staff, more events. They’ve even invested in a new model of water station called the water table for smaller gatherings, like baseball tourna-ments or family fun days.

Rebecca’s even been approached with the offer to franchise, but she says it’s not within her mandate of her business model. “I don’t

need to franchise in order to expand,” she says. “I believe my gross model can sustain going across provinces or even into the US, still being locally owned.” As for young people thinking of starting a business, Rebecca has some key advice, coming from her unique perspective on entrepreneurship.

“I launched a business inside the industry I already worked, so I knew a lot of people I could call up and say ‘Look, I’m not going to charge you. Take one of my water stations and put it at your event because I need the exposure.’” She says this networking is helpful in moving a good idea into a sustainable business model.

She also believes there’s a lot of value in doing your research. “I’ve found from my experience, in networking with other entrepre-neurs, to run into something too hastily and not do the research will probably cost you a lot of money and might not get your con-cept off the ground in the way that becomes the most sustainable or the most viable, so there’s a lot of value on sitting on a good idea and doing the most research.”

I LAuNCHED A BuSINESS INSIDE THE INDuSTRy I ALREADy WORkED, SO I kNEW A LOT OF PEOPLE I COuLD CALL uP AND SAy “LOOk, I’M NOT GOING TO CHARGE yOu. TAkE ONE OF My WATER STATIONS AND PuT IT AT yOuR EvENT BECAuSE I NEED THE EXPOSuRE.”

13

Page 16: Jobpostings Magazine: March 2014 Vol. 16 No. 6

HE GAVE YOU AND JOEY AN MRI AFTERTHE DOUBLE BACKFLIP INCIDENT OF ‘03.

Find out about information sessions and webinars in your area at sgu.edu/md

Grenada, West Indies*From an AMA data source, distributed in February 2010 ©2014 St. George’s University

US/Canada: 1 (800) 899-6337 ext. 9 1280 sgu.edu/md • [email protected]

Chances are you already know a St. George’s University doctor. There are over 11,000 SGU doctors in the US and around the world. And, SGU has put more doctors into the US health care system than two-thirds of US medical schools.* In 2013 alone, SGU graduates obtained over 800 residency positions in the US and Canada. Study medicine at SGU and join hundreds of SGU doctors from Canada.

Page 17: Jobpostings Magazine: March 2014 Vol. 16 No. 6

MARCH 2014 | JOBPOSTINGS.CA

15If you’re city folk, you’re familiar with the 40-storey corporate buildings and resi-dential condos that cover your city skyline. And as a suburbanite, you’re used to see-ing houses—and a lot of it.

With all the energy and materials needed to power and sustain these structures, the construction industry has implemented a new project: green buildings.

Engineers in construction are fusing their eco-values with their design, construc-tion, and project strategies. Less energy and electricity consumption and the use of sustainable materials are just a few cat-egories green buildings cover.

“There’s a whole category that deals with materials,” says Chris Higgins, LEED Canada for Homes program leader at the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC). “It deals with everything from designing a space to collections and recy-clables once the building is operating. It also deals with construction waste man-agement, materials reused, recycled con-tent, using regional materials, and using certified wood.”

Certified green | If you go green, you might as well get certified. The CaG-BC and the Leadership in Energy and En-vironmental Design (LEED) has created

Sustainable building design and construction is the latest green trend.GREENGINEERING

THE LARGEST ROLE IS A MECHANICAL ENGINEER

ESPECIALLy IN THE COMMERCIAL BuILDING.

LEED building certifications nationwide in an effort to foster sustainability in the construction of today’s homes and offices.

Certifying residential homes and apart-ments, as well as commercial buildings, LEED is a detailed rating system with a staff of raters and inspectors who test a number of categories for both new and existing buildings in green construction. Some categories that are examined in-clude sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and re-sources, and indoor environmental quality.

“LEED buildings are buildings that are, in the very least, 20–25 per cent more ef-ficient than an average new construction building and have reduced water use,” says Higgins. Since 2005 with LEED Can-ada, 2-million tonnes of construction and demolition waste was recycled and water savings equaled to over 3.3-billion litres.

Aside from its rating system and certifica-tion, LEED has also created a language for people in the construction and engi-neering industries. “LEED Canada for Homes and LEED Commercial programs have helped to grow the green construc-tion industry by creating a way for build-ers, developers, and owners to differenti-ate their buildings,” says Higgins. “As a

result, there’s an increase in roles for engi-neers in different fields in green building.”

Career building | The roles for en-gineers in construction are endless. Some of those opportunities include electrical, civil, and structural engineers, with the biggest demand for mechanical engineers. “The largest role is a mechanical engineer especially in the commercial building,” says Higgins. “They have such a large im-pact on the building if they’re designed well, optimized, and commissioned.”

Outside of engineering, Higgins says there are also roles for “architects, own-ers, interior designers, and commissioning agents” in the green construction industry. Mechanical engineers can make a salary of $53,500–$97,500, with project manag-ers making an average of $77,000.

For green construction hopefuls, Higgins encourages students to get their LEED Green Associate credential to gain a better understanding of LEED. “Green buildings are rapidly growing in the con-struction market,” he says, adding that through the certification, “they do a lot of the reading and studying online, so when they graduate they’ll have a base level of understanding of LEED and it can help them in their job search.”

CAREER REPORTSGREEN ENGINEERING

PHOTOS © ANDREy POPOv

Page 18: Jobpostings Magazine: March 2014 Vol. 16 No. 6

JOBPOSTINGS.CA | MARCH 2014

16

CAREER REPORTS FORESTRy & WASTE MANAGEMENT

If you’re the type of person to find yourself outdoors despite the temperamental season changes the Canadian weather brings or if you’ve ever been nicknamed the “tree-hugger” by your peers, perhaps a career in the forest industry is your best fit.

Aside from the mill work and environmental engineering posi-tions associated with forestry, we take a look at roles not often discussed, but play a significant role in the industry.

Let’s say that aside from your passion for the environment, you’re also studying toward your degree in business. With your itching desire to get out into the corporate world, why not fuse your two interests? The business side of forestry is much more intricate than we think, with a range of jobs that ultimately help to shape the industry.

“There’s everything from HR managers to health and safety to marketing jobs, and sales,” says Jason Koivisto, manager of in-novation and market development at the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. “A lot of those kinds of professional jobs tend to be located wherever the corporation has its head office.”

Monica Bailey, director of communications for the Forest Prod-ucts Association of Canada (FPAC), says companies within the forest products industry look for individuals who can study the trends. “They’ll look at things like ‘where’s the economy going in Canada? What’s happening in new markets? Where can we di-versify our products? [And] how can we better align our systems at the mill level and develop better production?’”

An Ottawa-based advocacy group, FPAC is the national voice for the Canadian pulp, paper, and lumber industry representing

companies like Tembec, Resolute Forest Products, West Fraser, and Miller Western Forest Products. With a number of business roles within those companies, Bailey says those individuals play an integral role in molding the vision and ensuring opportunities are met.

“A lot of companies have hired business analysts to predict, check, and see what’s going on in the marketplace, what oppor-tunities exist, and advancing our market reputation,” says Bailey. “They’re kind of like the big thinkers; they’ll sit in the corporate office and they’ll manage, run, and see what the sales team is doing. They’ll work with the business development team, the sci-entists, and research and developers.”

FPAC introduced TheGreenestWorkforce.ca, a career resource for new grads which includes corporate positions like IT special-ists and logging and forestry supervisors. The average hourly wage for an IT specialist is $50, while a supervisor’s is $38.

“There’s a whole section on the careers in the forest products industry,” says Koivisto. “In the mills, you’ll see them hiring economists—so folks who can help them do risk analyses, HR, IT specialists.”

Aside from the plethora of business opportunities in forestry, the industry also strives to promote a good work-life balance. “We want people to know the industry is high tech and relies a lot on research and development to take us to that next level,” says Bai-ley. “People who end up in our industry will stay for years because they see that there is proper work-life balance, you get to make a great living, and make a difference.”

The forestry industry isn’t just for lumberjacks, but business and IT professionals as well.BUSINESS IN THE TREES

PEOPLE WHO END uP IN OuR INDuSTRy WILL STAy

FOR yEARS BECAuSE THEy SEE THAT THERE IS PROPER WORk-LIFE BALANCE, yOu

GET TO MAkE A GREAT LIvING, AND MAkE A DIFFERENCE.

PHOTOS © SHIRONOSOv

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MARCH 2014 | JOBPOSTINGS.CA

17Many of us can say we’re guilty of disposing our leftover food or garden trimmings in the same bin as the rest of our trash without the knowledge of the harm it causes to the environment.

“When you send food products to the landfill, it’ll be the only thing that’ll decompose because it’s buried in a landfill without oxygen,” says Brigitte Morin, waste diversion coordinator at the University of Ottawa. “This creates methane, which is 20 times worse than CO2 for climate change.”

Waste management can be a smelly business, but communities throughout the country are promoting composting practices and ensuring their citizens are well aware of the resources available.

“There is tremendous diversity in the technology and sizes of composting facilities in Alberta,” says Natasha Page, waste re-duction specialist at the Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (ESRD) ministry of the Government of Alberta. The ESRD currently regulates over 70 facilities across the province, with one of North America’s biggest composting facilities located in Edmonton.

In an effort to reach out to Albertans, Page says the “ESRD staff often attends seminars and workshops hosted by industry and re-cycling groups” like the Compost Council of Canada, the Solid Waste Association of North America, to showcase their waste reduction initiatives. “ESRD staff members also sit on waste re-duction committees to share information with municipalities.”

The expansion of composting initiatives in Alberta has lead to jobs for news grads as facility operators, processors, haulers, and waste consultants. And individuals as waste management direc-

tors can make upwards of $90,000 a year.

From a community the size of the province of Alberta to a much smaller community the size of a university, the University of Ot-tawa has also integrated a composting program of their own. “Composting is the single most important thing that people can do that has the most impact on our environment,” says Morin. “It’s pretty important and when you do it yourself, you’re saving all the costs and gas to send it elsewhere.”

While composting initiatives at the University of Ottawa have been around since 1992, the school executes their entire com-posting program in-house through a large-scale composting ma-chine that was introduced in 2008.

“The machine is on our campus and our teams are the ones responsible for collecting all the foods on campus, bringing it to the location, feeding the machine, and taking it to the machine,” says Morin, adding that the composting program is executed by seven sanitary staff, two supervisors, as well as herself.

To ensure students are aware of the program, Morin says there are “a lot of different promotional campaigns” throughout the campus, and by “seeing the compost signage on the recycling stations, people are aware” of the programs.

She also encourages students to get involved through volunteer work. “A lot of students help us out with promotions and out-reach,” say Morin. “A problem that we have is that people will see the word biodegradable on something and think that it’s compostable even though it’s not. So we need their help spread to the word for that kind of stuff.”

How Canadians are taking care of waste and promoting a cleaner future.THE COMPOSTING COMMUNITy

COMPOSTING IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING

THAT PEOPLE CAN DO THAT HAS THE MOST IMPACT ON

OuR ENvIRONMENT.

PHOTOS © NICOLAS MCCOMBER

Page 20: Jobpostings Magazine: March 2014 Vol. 16 No. 6

NURTURE YOUR FUTURE. YOUR ENVIRONMENT. YOUR LIFE.If you want good pay, opportunities to learn on the job, a great lifestyle and the chance to work in Canada’s greenest workforce, then the forest products industry is right for you.

Canadian forest product companies will need to hire 60,000, or more, new workers by 2020 to meet demand and you could be one of them!

FIND OUT MORE AT THEGREENESTWORKFORCE.CA

JOBS IN DEMAND

SKILLED TRADES:Industrial electricians•

Heavy-duty equipment mechanics•

Millwrights and industrial mechanics•

Power steam engineers•

Process engineers•

CORPORATE AND ONSITE OFFICES:• Accounting and related

administrative clerks• Forest economists

and risk analysts• Human resources and

• Information technology specialists

• Logging and forestry supervisors

SCIENCES:• Chemical engineers• Electrical

and electronics engineers

• Forestry professionals• Industrial engineers • Mechanical engineers

WOODLANDS OPERATIONS AND GENERAL LABOUR:• Environmental

supervisors• Forestry technologists

and technicians• Heavy equipment

operators• Logging truck drivers• Silviculturalists

For a complete list visit TheGreenestWorkforce.ca

/TheGreenestWorkforce

Page 21: Jobpostings Magazine: March 2014 Vol. 16 No. 6

MARCH 2014 | JOBPOSTINGS.CA

Green is the new black in the business world—and we’re not talking about the fashion.

A green business strives to be more than just an ad-vocate for the environment and communities, but it also develops green business strategies with a com-mitment to a sustainable future. More Canadian companies are focusing on bringing green initiatives to their everyday business practices, whether it’s di-rected at their internal teams or their target markets. From LED lighting in offices to eco-friendly consum-er products, these eco-stars are tackling all angles of the environment in their businesses.

Their initiatives originate from a sole source: their

values. Whether it’s corporate or personal, these values are evident in each sustainability mandate or company description, and have received nothing but positive response from employees and clients.

Aside from the push to go green, these eco-conscious initiatives are opening up opportunity for new jobs and are attracting young talent who share the same values.

We profile eight small and large companies in differ-ent industries across the country with unique green practices from a sustainable clothing line to a 100 per cent paperless business to a one-stop shop for en-ergy services.

CREATING A GREEN FUTUREProfiling Canadian companies and businesspeople with environmentally friendly practices.

Words Megan Santos // Illustrations Anthony Capano

FEATUREECO-STARS

19

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JOBPOSTINGS.CA | MARCH 2014

FEATURE ECO-STARS

We use sustainable fabrics and ethical manufacturing—90 per cent of which is made in vancouver and the other 10 per cent we use fair trade in Nepal.

Even the fashion world is going green. Ni-cole Bridger Design is a Vancouver-based fashion clothing line focused on its com-mitment to the earth and its people. Made only from sustainable materials, president and designer Nicole Bridger says the idea for her business stems from her values.

“To me, I can’t turn off my values when I’m creating a company,” she says. “Es-sentially the company’s values are an ex-tension of my own.” And creating ethical clothing is how Bridger fuses her career

with those values.

“We use sustainable fabrics and ethical manufacturing—90 per cent of which is made in Vancouver and the other 10 per cent we use fair trade in Nepal,” she says. With materials from eucalyptus plants, peach trees, and common fabrics like silk, wool, and cashmere, Bridger is able to de-sign and manufacture her fashion line in a sustainable way. “We look for factories that have certain certifications,” she says. “It also helps me to feel good about how

the fabric is made without me having to physically go there.”

The green efforts at Nicole Bridger De-sign don’t stop there. Along with her plans to have 20 stores by 2020, she says she’d like the company to become a closed loop business. “That means zero waste; every year we’re figuring out how to do it better and technology is really changing quickly. Every step of growth that we take is going to open new doors for us.”

As one of the Big Four professional ser-vices firms in the world, PwC continues to be a leader in the industry through its roots in corporate responsibility. Employ-ing approximately 6,000 staff in 26 Cana-

dian offices, company leaders like James Temple, director of corporate responsibil-ity at PwC Canada, has the pleasure of overseeing the firm’s community and en-vironmental engagement projects.

“Part of being one of Canada’s greenest employers is also knowing that we have to reflect the needs of society, so environ-mental sustainability is key to that,” he says. PwC Canada has since introduced

Nicole Bridger, President and Designer

NICOLE BRIDGER DESIGN

James Temple, Director of Corporate Responsibility

PwC CANADA

Most of our new recruits come in and join our green teams and we empower them to be environmental stewards in their local office.

20

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green teams to every office.

“They support us in thinking about envi-ronmental issues that impact their own of-fice,” like paper reduction, eating locally, and sustainably furnishing the offices, says Temple. “At a higher level, when we look at our environmental strategies, we focus on measuring and managing our greenhouse gas emissions that are given off through

our offices and through air travel.”

Implementing green strategies at PwC is important because of their belief in using employee skills and relationships as a cata-lyst for change. “Most of our new recruits come in and join our green teams and we empower them to be environmental stew-ards in their local office,” says Temple. “It’s a way to engage our employees in some-

thing that relates to our values as a firm.”

And the response has been huge. In their most recent millennials at work survey, Temple says, “approximately 60 per cent of our new recruits wanted to work for an organization that shared their values and identified specifically our corporate responsibility work and green initiatives.”

IKEA Canada has a long history work-ing with sustainability. Decades ago, the company started flat-packing its products to maximize space in shipping containers, thus reducing emissions from distribution trips. “This type of common-sense think-ing, along with a strong social conscience, is truly embedded in the core of IKEA,” says Brendan Seale, sustainability man-ager at IKEA Canada.

Today, IKEA is one of Canada’s green-est employers and is focusing on a new sustainability strategy: People & Planet Positive. The strategy outlines three main change drivers: inspiring and enabling

people to live a more sustainable home life, pursuing resource and energy inde-pendence, and building a better life for communities and its people.

Within these strategies, IKEA Canada has been able to offer LED lighting products to its customers. Seale says the company is also committed to producing more renew-able energy than the world consumes by 2020. “We are making significant invest-ments in wind and solar energy, and most recently purchased a 46MW wind farm in Alberta that we expect to produce enough electricity to power 32 IKEA stores.”

Lastly, IKEA’s code of conduct for sup-pliers IWAY, sets out the requirements for all home furnishing products in regards to social impact, working conditions, and the environment. “Every year, IKEA con-ducts over 1000 audits to verify that our business has a positive impact through our supply chain,” says Seale.

Sustainability has always been an impor-tant practice at IKEA. “By pursuing sus-tainability in a genuine way, we are seeing an alignment of people’s values and the company’s values, which makes IKEA a rewarding work environment.”

Brendan Seale, Sustainability Manager

IkEA CANADA

By pursuing sustainability in a genuine way, we are seeing an alignment of people’s values and the company’s values, which makes IkEA a rewarding work environment.

21

GOVERNMENT AGRICULTURE FORESTRY FISHING HUNTING SCIENTIFIC

THE INDUSTRIES THAT EMPLOY THE HIGHEST PROPORTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL EMPLOYEES ARE: 52.5% 17.6%

17.3%

12.6%ENVIRONMENTAL EMPLOYMENT IN CANADA

ONTARIOB.C. OTHER

QUEBEC

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JOBPOSTINGS.CA | MARCH 2014

FEATURE ECO-STARS

ALL Strategy’s green practices were in full effect ever since its debut in the mar-ket. With the plan to be 100 per cent paperless, Carla Wood, founder, speaker, and strategist, created her all-electronic-based company with an objective to advo-cate strategy for small- and medium-sized businesses completely online. She provides her staff with eco-friendly work gadgets such as Macbooks, iPads, and desktops, and carries out the business solely through cloud software.

“The truth is that if you’ve looked at paper six months after you’ve printed it, it’s not important anymore and it’s only impor-tant in the moment,” says Wood. “When I started this company, I just couldn’t find a good reason to use paper so I didn’t.”

Wood’s dedication to the environment started well before ALL Strategy was es-tablished. “I’m pretty passionate about the green movement to begin with. When I started thinking about how to incorpo-rate green into a service-based business so

it was a pillar, the only thing that I could think of doing was that,” she says.

Wood believes the biggest obstacle for companies is not understanding the best ways to go green. “Like most change, edu-cation is the first step,” she says. “Every-one says they can’t do it; they’ve got spe-cial requirements and that it won’t work for them, but as you become educated in it and you experience it, it turns out that with a click of a button you can make an appointment wherever you are.”

Carla wood, Founder, Speaker, and Strategist

ACCENTURE CANADA

ALL STRATEGy

The truth is that if you’ve looked at paper six months after you’ve printed it, it’s not important anymore and it’s only important in the moment.

Carolyn Serzysko, Technical Environmental Coordinator

Back in 2007 we established our global environmental responsibility policy, so this is the mantra.

22

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GSky Plant Systems brings a unique spin to green business practices. Providing worldwide markets with vertical green walls for spaces like corporate offices, hotels, airports, health care facilities, and malls, GSky strives to not only provide businesses with aesthetically pleasing wall art, but also to make a positive impact on the environment.

“Our company focuses on plants,” says Vicki Lee, marketing and social media coordinator at GSky Plant Systems. She adds that through integrating plants into spaces, GSky seeks to improve people’s lives, as well as the quality of the environ-ment.

Giving buildings an immediate wow-fac-tor, Lee says GSky’s green walls “have a great potential to transform a space, creat-ing a whole new look and atmosphere that improve people’s experience.” With over 150 green walls installed and maintained worldwide, some of GSky’s high-profile

GSky PLANT SySTEMS INC.Vicki Lee, Marketing and Social Media Coordinator

clients include Westin Hotels, Whole Foods Market, Twitter, and American Express.

Beyond its aesthetic appeal, the green walls provide environmental benefits. “People spend as much as 90 per cent of their lives indoors breathing in volatile or-ganic compounds that are emitted from building materials,” says Lee. “The plants on the green walls can remove toxins in the air and capture dust,” adding that the photosynthesis process “improves the quality of air and provides more energy-rich oxygen that can benefit our health.”

As cities continue to transform into con-crete jungles, Lee says the green walls pro-vide people with a spiritual and physical connection to nature. “Green Walls are space efficient, making good use of ver-tical surface areas where space is limited. All of this explains the increasing trend towards implementing living walls inside and outside of buildings to bring nature back into our lives.”

At a large company, technical en-vironmental coordinator Carolyn Serzysko says it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what inspired Accenture Canada to go green. “Back in 2007, we established our global environ-mental responsibility policy, so this is the mantra,” she says.

With Accenture’s focus on manage-ment consulting, outsourcing, and technology services, they also strive to be environmentally conscious. Accenture’s environmental depart-ment focuses on three key practices: the implementation of green teams, travel smart challenges, and eco-smart games.

FRESH teams—short for Focused on Responsible Environmental Sus-tainability for a Healthy planet—are groups of passionate employees who drive green initiatives. “They’re set up in each of our locations,” says Serzysko. “I meet with them on a monthly basis and advise them as to what’s going on across Canada and what to implement locally and create awareness to their local office.”

The Travel Smart Challenge takes place between Earth Day and World Environment Day and is designed to inspire employees to challenge their methods of travel. Serzysko says staff is encouraged to “think creatively on how to reduce their travel-related carbon footprints” by holding virtual meetings or reducing ground trans-portation by working from home.

Through the Global Eco-Challenge, employees engage in interactive games that test their eco-smarts. “What this does is it encourages our people to embrace environmental stewardship and adopt eco-smart work practices,” says Serzysko.

She believes these initiatives are es-sential to any high-performance business. “In order for us to reduce our environmental impact, we not only need to work closely with our employees but also with our clients and suppliers so everybody is on the same page.”

PEOPLE SPEND AS MuCH AS 90 PER CENT OF THEIR LIvES INDOORS BREATHING IN vOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOuNDS

THAT ARE EMITTED FROM BuILDING MATERIALS.

23

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FEATURE ECO-STARS

Recognized as a one-stop shop for green energy fixes, Francis and Emma Gough of Florida-based SuperGreen Solutions decided to bring the compa-ny’s services north of the border. After opening its doors for the first time last month in their Edmonton location, Francis and Emma hope to educate Albertans on the green solutions avail-able to them.

“With our showroom we let people look, touch, feel, and see what it’s like to go green and I think that’s a game changer,” says Francis, president of SuperGreen Solutions Canada. “I think lots of people want to go green but they have to understand how easy it is.”

SuperGreen Solutions provides busi-nesspeople and homeowners with

Debbie Baxter, Chief Sustainability Officer and VP

of workplace Services

LOyALTyONE

We’ve implemented many innovative programs and strategies that are focused on driving

environmental sustainability.

For loyalty marketing and programs provider LoyaltyOne, the importance of sustainability practices comes from their belief that companies have the ability to create healthy environments and strong communities.

“We’ve implemented many innova-tive programs and strategies that are focused on driving environmental sus-tainability,” says Debbie Baxter, chief sustainability officer and VP of work-place services at LoyaltyOne.

The company has implemented these strategies through its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certified customer care centre in Mississauga, Ontario. Baxter says at the time of opening in 2009, the centre had “the largest rooftop so-lar panel installation in Canada,” with more than 800 solar panels—enough to power 16 medium-sized homes.

Today, LoyaltyOne continues to push

products and services like LED light-ing, energy efficient water, insulation, ventilation, and wind power. Catering to everyday people as well as ultra en-vironmentalists in Western Canada, Francis describes how clients can con-nect. “We come and review their en-ergy efficiency and the full envelope, gage what their needs are and then start proposing solutions like products, service, and installation.”

For the couple, running a green busi-ness has been an interest for them for the last ten years. Coming from an en-vironment management background, Emma, director of projects and op-erations, researched space saving and green renovation ideas. “We found SuperGreen and it brought a lot of things together that we really liked,” she says.

to LEED certify their existing To-ronto head office. “This meant mak-ing changes to the building’s recycling programs, energy and water usage, ex-terior maintenance, and replacing key infrastructure items to allow for more sustainable options,” says Baxter.

In an effort to tackle sustainable tran-sit practices, Baxter says LoyaltyOne provides electric and hybrid cars to its associates during working hours. “LoyaltyOne offers on-site vehicles for associates to take to meetings during the day, allowing them to still travel home using their discounted public transit pass, or by walking or biking.”

Baxter says it’s crucial for both the business and associates to be on board. “The drive for sustainable business practices was met by the associates’ passion to create healthier and more environmentally friendly work places and communities.”

Francis Gough, President

SUPERGREEN SOLUTIONS

With our showroom we let people look, touch, feel, and see what it’s like to go green and I

think that’s a game changer.

24

MANUFACTURING AND CONSTRUCTION JOBS TAKE UP AT LEAST 50% OF THE JOBS FOUND IN GENERATING RENEWABLE ENERGY.

63%

37%

THE ENVIRONMENTAL WORKFORCE BY GENDER.

Those that work directly with information, technologies, or materials that minimize environmental impact, and also require specialized skills, knowledge, training, or experience related to these areas.

GREEN COLLAR JOBS/ gren käler jäbz /

Page 27: Jobpostings Magazine: March 2014 Vol. 16 No. 6

Healing animals like Sheba is an amazing experience. So is studying Veterinary Medicine at AVMAand CVMA-accredited St. George’s University. You’ll study alongside aspiring doctors, public healthprofessionals, scientists, and faculty from 140 countries in a fully integrated One Health, One Medicineenvironment. And SGU is small enough that students get plenty of individual a� ention but large enoughto off er 52 degree programs.

Grenada, West Indies

Find out about information sessions and webinars in your area at sgu.edu/dvm

©2014 St. George’s University

US/Canada: 1 (800) 899-6337 ext. 9 1280 sgu.edu/dvm • [email protected]

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SHE PERFORMED A MINOR PROCEDURE ON SHEBA,WHO THANKED HER PROFUSELY.

FOR A CAT.

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JOBPOSTINGS.CA | MARCH 2014

The rays from a bright afternoon sun shine through rows upon rows of tall palm trees, bouncing off the glittering sand and spar-kling water. The music of waves lapping the shoreline mixed with the songs and calls of tropical birds and wildlife is the soundtrack of the Caribbean, one that you’d probably only get to enjoy while on a relaxing vacation. But what if you could hear and experience it every day?

This is the dream of many people, to be able to live and work in a vacation spot, surrounded by nature instead of concrete. To others, this lifestyle is a reality that comes with many benefits, but also a few challenges.

Working in paradiSe | According to a study conducted

by the Asia Pacific Foundation, it was found that as of 2006 ap-proximately 8.8 per cent of the Canadian population lives abroad. In the United States, that value is much lower at 1.7 per cent. Un-fortunately, compared to the detailed records kept on immigrants in Canada and the US, such records do not exist for emigrants, making it difficult to determine the exact exit rate of citizens from either country.

Whether it’s their career that takes them away or they’re in need of a drastic lifestyle change, reasons for living in remote areas like tropical islands are plentiful.

“In many respects, it’s a simpler life because you just don’t have access to the same number of things and the same choices that you

Working in paradise has its benefits and challenges. Here’s a look at what to expect when living and working in a remote area.

THE GOOD AND THE BAD OF wORkING IN REMOTE AREAS

Words Jamie bertolini // Illustrations Chinzonzag

FEATURE REMOTE WORk

26

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MARCH 2014 | JOBPOSTINGS.CA

would have in a city,” says Renée H. Kim-ball, one of the founders of Tranquilo Bay Eco Adventure Lodge. Kimball has lived and worked in Bocas Del Toro, Panama since 2004. She, her husband, and business partners all help run the lodge year-round.

“We focus on really immersing our guests in nature and letting them leave the every-day behind,” she says. Guests can access Internet from the main building, and some-times have access to cell phone reception from the various cabanas located through-out the property.

Previously to their hospitality business, Kimball lived and worked in Texas as a lawyer. At Tranquilo Bay, she now takes care of many hotel-related tasks in admin-istration and marketing. Kimball and her husband chose to leave the United States in search of something different that they could spend the rest of their lives doing. They settled on Panama after much re-search and found that they “got lucky” with a number of other things such as its ideal temperature and climate.

The ease of living was also the biggest ben-efit for Steven Brown when he left Canada to move to Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands to work as a sales associate for Co-lombian Emeralds.

The best part was being able to slow down and enjoy life more,” he says. “Everything in Canada as far as work goes is making more, doing more, wanting more.” Brown has since returned to Canada and says he notices now that “people in stores get upset when what they are looking for is not there right then. On an island, you get used to waiting a week or two for many things.” In Grand Cayman, Brown also says he no-ticed a much better work-life balance.

Heather Holmes lived in Singapore for a year while working as a training and physi-cian relationship manager for Medtronic, a medical device company.

For her, she says a big plus to living on the island was the tropical weather she got to experience.

“I travel a ton for my work as well as per-sonally and have had amazing experienc-es,” she says. “For example, staying in a little thatched-roof bungalow on the beach in Cambodia and having a great wi-fi con-nection and spending a week with my feet in the sand and not missing a beat.”

the hardShipS of SeCluSion | Setting aside the beautiful atmosphere that

draws many to places like these, a number of challenges also come with living in ex-tremely remote areas.

Mary McCoy originally moved to the Kingdom of Tonga as a Peace Corps vol-unteer.

“I had a decades-long desire to live and work in the Pacific,” she says. “I was par-ticularly interested in Tonga since it’s the only country in the Pacific that has never been colonized.”

McCoy decided to extend her stay in Ton-ga and formed the Training Group of the Pacific with a Tongan business partner.

One of the difficulties she encountered with living and working in such a remote area was the availability of office supplies. “Getting supplies could not be taken for

IT’S A SIMPLER LIFE BECAuSE yOu JuST

DON’T HAvE ACCESS TO THE SAME NuMBER OF THINGS AND THE SAME

CHOICES THAT yOu WOuLD HAvE IN A CITy.

granted. If there was toner for my printer on the island, I would buy as much as I could as I would never know when it would be back.”

If McCoy ran out, she says borrowing was sometimes an option. “Or we would have to figure out a different way to do what we needed to do.” The closest places she could get supplies from were Fiji or New Zealand, both of which were an expensive flight away.

For Kimball, the biggest challenge was all of the logistics associated with conducting business on the remote island offshore of mainland Panama.

“I’m on an island in an archipelago in a province that’s only had a road to it for the last 15 years,” she says. Whenever Kimball needs groceries and other supplies, the only point of access to her is by boat.

reMote Canada | Though secluded in a different way, Canada too is home to

some fairly remote areas.

“Ninety-five per cent of Canada’s land area is rural,” according to the Community Information Database of Canada. “Rural Canada is characterized by distance (like to markets and services), low population, and business density.”

Much of Canada’s population is located near the border where climates are gen-erally warmer, leaving many areas of the country sparsely populated and easily qualifying as remote areas to live and work. Workers in mining and oil and gas compa-nies in particular are often required to relo-cate to very secluded work sites.

Jessica Madill, director of human resources at JW Marriott The Rosseau Muskoka Re-sort and Spa, works in one of the more re-mote areas of Ontario.

The resort is located in Minett in the Township of Muskoka Lakes, which has a population of 6,400 year-round.

“We have a corner store in Minett, which is a variety store, and that’s it,” says Madill.

Muskoka is home to a few major towns but mostly “encompasses more than 2,000 spar-kling lakes.” Madill says that one of the ben-efits of being surrounded by so much nature is that “there are tons of outdoor activities to keep you busy and lots to explore.”

One of the difficulties that comes with conducting business in Muskoka is finding enough housing and, in particular, afford-able housing for employees, says Madill. In 2012, the average cost of a single family home that isn’t on the water was $250,000, while the cost of a cottage in the area was closer to $700,000.

Access to public transportation and city amenities like stores and gas stations are also more difficult to come by in Muskoka.

Working in remote areas, no matter the country, can be a challenge.

“Prepare as best you can, but be ready for it to be different than you thought it would be,” says Brown. That said, these jobs of-fer unique opportunities you can’t get any-where else, so if you’re a risktaking nomad, it might be time to leave the city for some-thing new and remote.

“Just because you’re born in a given place does not always mean that it will feel like home,” he adds. “Keep looking until you find your home; when you do, no matter where it may be, you will feel better.”

27

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P: 866-DR2B-AUC (866-372-2282) For consumer information, please visit www.aucmed.edu/about/student-consumer-information.aspx. © 2013 Global Education International. All rights reserved.

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MARCH 2014 | JOBPOSTINGS.CA

It’s an industry that’s internationally intertwined, with career op-portunity in different sectors such as accommodation, food and drink, and travel and tourism. The hospitality industry opens doors for young people who are not only interested in careers in the service sector, but are also looking to make a social impact in their communities.

Even universities across Canada are readying their students for the field through master’s programs in tourism and tourism man-agement. It offers learning in business, social sciences, and also touches upon entrepreneurial subjects.

“We feel like that provides a versatile skill set to allow people to go in a number of different directions as far as a career, but also provides a sound academic base of knowledge about tourism as both an economic and social phenomenon,” says Geoffrey Bird, associate professor and program head for the master of arts in tourism management at Royal Roads University.

Sustainability is a significant component to the tourism industry and is one of the subjects students focus on at Royal Roads Uni-versity. “With sustainability we look at a range of angles,” says Bird. “We look at sustainable tourism products like ecotourism, lodges, or nature-based tours.” He adds that students also learn how to plan and create sustainable business operations, and ad-dress issues in relation to social and environmental impact, as well as climate change.

At the University of Waterloo, students can take on the master’s in tourism program. Drawing in students both locally and inter-nationally—from countries like the US, China, India, and the

LEARNING TOURISM A career in the hospitality sector that allows travel and flexibility, with global sustainability in mind.

Caribbean—the master’s is a joint program offered through both the department of recreation and leisure studies and the depart-ment of geography and environmental management. “These students are undertaking research projects in diverse locations and diverse issues,” says Dr. Sanjay Nepal, director of the mas-ter’s in tourism program. “Some recently completed projects (stu-dent theses) included tourism in small rural communities in Nova Scotia, impact of tourism on coral reefs in the Caribbean, and eco-lodges in Costa Rica.”

With the in-depth academic schedule in the tourism program, the career opportunities after graduation are endless. “Careers in tourism are diverse, from working in the tourism and hospitality sectors to consulting, working for government agencies [like] eco-nomic development, and non-governmental organizations,” says Dr. Nepal. “The industry is constantly growing so opportunities are growing as well.”

Oftentimes the tourism industry is faced with challenges. Accord-ing to Dr. Nepal, “some of the challenges include overcoming the stereotypical image of a low-paying service-oriented job.” He ensures this isn’t true and students have opportunities to help in other areas like “developing tourism policies that work for local communities, addressing environmental and ethical concerns in tourism, [and] developing sustainable tourism master plans for destination communities.”

However, with the challenges come some of the biggest rewards. “You work with people,” says Bird, “[and] work in an industry that can influence a community’s direction in a positive way,”

HOSPITALITy EDUCATION

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JOBPOSTINGS.CA | MARCH 2014

We’ve all participated in green initiatives throughout high school from waste management to tree planting. And even before that, we were taught and told to memorize the “three R’s”: reuse, re-duce, and recycle. For those who volunteered their time and paid close attention to those valuable lessons comes great opportunity to specialize in environmental practices through graduate school.

Green manaGement Grad proGrams | It’s an op-portunity to put your green thumb to work in the business sector. Conestoga College offers a graduate certificate in green manage-ment where students have the opportunity to focus on sustain-ability practices within an organization.

“It’s been fantastic because our students are all high achievers and they’ve been able to give us some feedback too in terms of moving the program forward,” says Laura Matheson, program coordinator and faculty of the green management program at Conestoga College.

With the program in its inaugural year, students learn all aspects of sustainability through its history, business cases, and marketing strategies, and are already starting to consider their career op-tions. “Some students will be pursuing an educational type role, where they’d like to work with youth,” says Matheson. “There are a couple of students that would like to work with an organiza-tion as a sustainability coordinator, [and] then there are a couple students who’d like to work as a business manager with a focus on sustainability.”

Amy Kendall, chair of the school of business and hospitality at Conestoga College, says students will benefit from studying green management because of its novelty. “In terms of what they’re go-ing to learn, it’s new to businesses. As much as sustainability has been talked about for a while, organizations haven’t necessarily adapted it,” she says, adding that this opens up career opportuni-ties for students in the future.

THE GREENEST EDUCATIONHere are a few postgrad programs dedicated to sustainable and environmentally friendly practices.

“If you’re very passionate about social and environmental is-sues,” says Matheson, “this can be a really good focus for you because you have the opportunity to make that change within an organization.”

master’s in environmental enGineerinG | If you’re interested in being immersed in the environment and learning about topics like water treatment and waste manage-ment, as well as carrying out environmental impact assessments, then an education in environmental engineering at the Ottawa-Carleton Institute for Environmental Engineering might be your match.

The institute offers a master’s program in environmental engi-neering through three joint engineering departments at the Uni-versity of Ottawa and Carleton University.

While most lab work is done in the undergraduate level, the mas-ter’s program’s primary focus is on theory with the opportunity to work in the field. “At the graduate level, technically lab work is not a structured part of the courses, but depending on the course they tend to do term projects, some of which may involve field work,” says Deniz Karman, director of the Ottawa-Carleton In-stitute for Environmental Engineering.

With a master’s, there are a variety of career opportunities in op-erations and emissions, and with regulatory agencies or authori-ties. However, the environmental consultancy industry employs a significant number of graduates that work closely with those sectors, and Karman adds, “they offer services to industries, mu-nicipalities, or regulatory industries by project basis.”

While a degree will open up to careers in the field, Karman sug-gests that two extra years of studying a master’s degree likely leads to better jobs. “They’ll probably be more rewarding jobs in the sense that they’d have more responsibility in the job.”

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Page 34: Jobpostings Magazine: March 2014 Vol. 16 No. 6

JOBPOSTINGS.CA | MARCH 2014

EDUCATION DIRECTORy

Leadership in today’s tech world takes more than technical knowledge. It requires the management and business acumen to lead. The University of California, Berke-ley Master of Engineering Program integrates engineering coursework with classes in leadership and management concepts, tackling real-world industry challenges through case studies and the capstone project.

Conestoga College, located in Waterloo region, is Ontario’s fastest growing college and a leader in polytechnic education. Our career-focused programs – from ap-prenticeships to diplomas, degrees to graduate certificates, continuing education and part-time studies – all reflect Ontario’s changing job market and will help you build the skills and knowledge that today’s employers are seeking.

100+ graduate programs with world-class research opportunities and strong support to enrich your educational experience and advance your career. Set your ideas in motion. Consider graduate studies at Queen’s.queensu.ca/sgs

Brock is a rapidly growing University, offering 43 dynamic Master’s and PhD pro-grams within 6 academic faculties. With our strong sense of community and per-sonal investment in our students, Brock is a great choice for your graduate education.

Established in 1936 and located on Canada’s magnificent West Coast, Vancouver Island University (VIU) is a public university offering over 200 programs in popular areas of study like Business, Tourism, Sport and Recreation and Hospitality; Hu-manities, Social Sciences and Education; Sciences, Computers and Technology; and Art, Design and Performing Arts. VIU’s graduates are in demand by employers in the United States, Canada and around the world.

Dalhousie’s Corporate Residency MBA - Enter our 22-month program directly from any undergrad degree, no work experience required. Within six months you’ll be working in an 8-month, paid corporate residency with a top employer. Our per-sonal and professional effectiveness course combined with career coaching from our Management Career Services team will accelerate your leadership skills.

Sheridan one-year graduate certificate programs enhance your diploma or degree with a blend of theoretical knowledge and work experience that fully prepare you to launch your career. Choose from more than 20 programs in arts, business, manage-ment, communications, technology, or digital media. Get the rewarding job you want.

Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine (Ross Vet) offers a veterinary program focused on educating tomorrow’s leaders and discoverers in veterinary medicine. RUS-VM is dedicated to providing academic excellence for students as the foundation for becoming sought-after, practice-ready veterinarians for North America and beyond.

American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine has provided students with a quality medical education since 1978. In the years since AUC’s founding, more than 5,000 graduated physicians have made a significant impact in the field of medicine in countries around the world.

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Green has been a buzz colour for the last ten years. As industries are moving more towards sustainable practices and professionals are more environmentally conscious, positions are opening in all fields to focus on making companies eco-friendly.

All sorts of renewable energy are now on the table. Wind farms, both off-shore and local, generate electricity for thousands of homes. Solar power is becoming more common and can be mounted directly on your rooftop. Hydropower continues to be a common source of power, while bioenergy is being explored to create energy by burning organic waste.

With these new sources of energy come a plethora of jobs. Re-newable energy not only creates more jobs than traditional forms of energy, but it also creates 3.6 times more jobs for underedu-

SALARy REPORTThe greener side of a paycheque.

cated people, thus diversifying the workforce. Job titles like solar panel installer, bioenergy plant operator, and wind turbine man-ufacturing technician will become more common—changing the career landscape while helping the planet.

There are trades programs for young people interested in sus-tainability, like Train for Trades in Newfoundland and Labrador, or the Green Skills Network focusing on solar development in Ontario.

We’ve compiled some stats for popular green jobs to show you what you’d expect to make starting out and the average salary for all people in that field. Although these aren’t the most lucrative, careers with a green mandate are fulfilling in ways above and beyond dollar signs, so check them out.

100K

90K

80K

70K

60K

50K

40K

30K

20K

10K

INCOME CHANGES BY ECO-CAREERSEnvironmental Engineers

Urban & Regional Planners

Environmental Scientists

ENTRY-LEVEL

MEDIAN

Conservation Scientists

Foresters

Environmental Lawyers

THE BACK PAGESSALARy REPORT

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SOuRCE: ECO.CA

Page 38: Jobpostings Magazine: March 2014 Vol. 16 No. 6

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Page 40: Jobpostings Magazine: March 2014 Vol. 16 No. 6

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