Why Chris Haines Moved East To Further His Engineering Career At JDI
Come from away… and make it home. New opportunities in Atlantic Canada are causing skilled professionals to consider the East Coast in a whole new light.
Melissa Beckwith works in Human Resources for J.D. Irving, Limited (JDI)’s Transportation & Logistics Division, where she oversees senior recruitment. She says there’s a “definite” need for engineers in New Brunswick.
A recent study from the Public Policy Forum highlights the trouble New Brunswick firms are having recruiting skilled workers.
It points out that the Atlantic provinces face “severe demographic challenges with labour and skill shortages” and calls out engineers specifically as one of the main concerns.
Beckwith argues that, with the need for engineers in the region growing, qualified professionals who want a fulfilling career and the quality of life the Maritimes provides have never been in a better position.
And with March being National Engineering Month, it’s an opportune time to talk about engineers who have found success at home.
Chris Haines is an engineer and MBA who moved from Saskatchewan to work as Director of Operations first with RST Transport and then with NBM Railways in Saint John, New Brunswick. Both businesses are part of the JDI Transportation group.
He says there’s a lingering perception that to enjoy a Maritime lifestyle you must settle for a less exciting, or less prestigious job.
Haines admits he headed West to further his career and hadn’t considered moving back home because he assumed his options would be limited.
“We didn’t really think there was a lot of opportunity back here compared to out West, particularly for somebody like me in the technical trades,” he says.
He realizes now how wrong he was.
After JDI enticed him back, he found himself plunged into an exciting new sector where he was learning a ton and doing fascinating work.
As Director of Operations for the Transportation Division’s trucking arm, he got to put his engineering mind to work on logistics problems, while sharpening his management acumen. Impressed by his success with RST Transport, JDI eventually moved him to his current role heading up operations with NBM Railways.
“This is pretty far abroad from where I thought I would end up, but I have no regrets – I wouldn’t change my career direction at all,” Haines says. “I’m still challenged technically every day.”
Haines encourages other engineers to think broadly about their careers. Large companies, especially ones like JDI that are heavily asset-based, prize engineers’ problem-solving skills and are willing to invest to propel them into management positions.
“One thing you learn going through engineering school is how to problem solve, right? How you apply that skillset could really be in anything; it’s how you face problems and how you break them down and deal with them. And you can really apply that almost anywhere,” Haines says.
Beckwith agrees. She says she often sees engineers thrive in positions many wouldn’t immediately associate with the profession.
And with world-class companies constantly recruiting in New Brunswick, she says the opportunities for ambitious engineers are nearly endless.
Haines and his wife are both originally from New Brunswick. Last week, they took their kids to visit their grandparents, something Haines says he values incredibly.
He thinks about his former employers out West, who benefitted from the oil boom and are now mostly gone. He says he’s not sure where he’d be now if he hadn’t moved back home.
Beckwith says she often hears from hires at JDI who are similarly happy to have landed in the Maritimes.
“It’s the best of both worlds – working for a very sophisticated, large organization,” she says. “But you get to do that with a lifestyle you can’t get anywhere else.”
Explore opportunities to join the JDI team by visiting careers.jdirving.com.