An Airdrie man whose family is considering moving to Olds is hopeful that the jobs offered by Sundial Growers here will meet his needs, but he's skeptical, because he's been working in the oil and gas industry, and he's doubtful the wages offered will be high enough.
Greg Skoworodko and his wife would like to move out of what he calls "the hustle and bustle" of Airdrie and they're looking at Olds as a possible new home.
With that in mind, Skoworodko attended a presentation at Alberta Works April 25 on jobs anticipated over the next few years. That included a presentation by Sundial Growers, which anticipates hiring roughly 500 people over the next few years, including 70 for Phase 1 in the next few months.
"I'm an engineer who's had 15 years of experience in oil and gas exploration and production. And with the current downturn that we're facing, I'm looking for opportunities to get off that -- you know -- the boom and bust roller-coaster that our industry seems to be inevitably following," he said during an interview with the Albertan.
However, Skoworodko is doubtful Sundial will be able to provide him with the wage his family needs, because while he's been working in the oilpatch, his wife has been able to stay home and raise their two children, age 8 and 6.
During the presentation at Alberta Works, Sundial's human resources consultant Keith Rockley and Rita Rietze, the company's talent management consultant, could not say precisely what wages the company will offer. But they said those wages will be "competitive" with others in the industry.
They also said workers in the oilpatch will likely have skills that would be "transferable" to jobs in the cannabis processing industry.
Skoworodko said depending on the job he gets, the family has considered the possibility his wife may have to work in order to make ends meet.
"It's certainly something that we as a family, we don't want to pursue," he said. "We've been really, really blessed to have her being able to have the choice to stay home and raise our kids," he said.
"One of the things that we're looking at as a family right now is actually home-schooling our children. So in order to live out that dream, we do need a position where one income can meet our needs."
Asked if what he heard Wednesday gave him encouragement, Skoworodko said, "I would say I'm encouraged to learn more about what they have, that's for sure. There's not a lot of specifics on everything that's available, or the dollar figures involved, so it's just -- (I've) got to learn some more information right now."
