nova scotia health job opportunities coming to 11 communities at once
jobs in it, hr, clerical, custodial, and much more available
5 minute read
the yarmouth regional hospital. tina comeau photo
tina comeau
/
tina comeau
nova scotia health is hoping for a good turnout, and a great rate of hire, when it holds a provincewide career fair this month with locations spanning one tip of the province to the other.
“the purpose of the career fair is literally to educate people here in nova scotia about the opportunities available at nova scotia health,” says lauren murphy, nova scotia health’s (nsh) director of recruitment and volunteer services, who has been with nsh for two years and explains how the career fair came about.
“when i first started, one of the major things that i learned was the sheer vast number of opportunities that are available in nova scotia health. i didn’t know that, and i expected a lot of people don’t know that,” she says.
so, she pitched the idea for a provincewide career fair. the first one took place last year.
“it ended up being a huge success. we ended up hiring over 200 people from that one event,” she says, saying it was considered so successful that nova scotia health has made it into an annual event.
the 2025 career fair will be held in 11 locations across the province on thursday, march 27, running from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“the concept is to connect potential candidates with managers, and building those connections in the hope that we actually are able to hire people,” says murphy.
lauren murphy is nova scotia health’s director of recruitment and volunteer services. contributed
advertisement
typically when people think about nova scotia health jobs, what immediately comes to mind are doctors and nurses. however, murphy says there are countless positions in hospitals across the province that keep the health-care system functioning.
diverse opportunities
murphy points out that from last year’s fair, around 20 people were hired for positions in the province’s western zone. “we had an hr student hired. we had ward clerks. we had medical lab assistants. we had an accounting clerk. it really runs the gamut,” she says, talking about the variety of jobs that exist.
“we have people who are working in food nutrition. we have people who are working in laundry. we have people who are working in management positions. finance, i.t., pharmacy. we have a ton of admin-type positions. we need people in the trades desperately to maintain our facilities, to keep them running. it’s really, really diverse,” murphy says.
“nova scotia health, you think scrubs and stethoscopes, but it really is so much bigger and broader than that,” she says.
nova scotia health has reached out to high schools and post-secondary institutions to make students aware of the career fair. murphy notes high school students are starting to plan and map out what they want to do beyond school. she says this event gives nova scotia health the chance to plant some seeds with them.
advertisement
murphy says following last year’s career fair, nova scotia health heard from its post-secondary partners that they have been seeing an increase in students applying for health programs.
but it’s not just students who come through the door. there are mature persons, immigrants, people who have moved to the province, people considering career changes, etc.
community connections
murphy says another advantage of the career fair is it allows nova scotia health to connect people with an employer in their community.
“oftentimes the hospital is a pivotal part of a community. we want people to be able to work and live in the communities where they are and where they’re comfortable,” she says. “we want people staying in nova scotia. we want people coming to nova scotia. being able to highlight what nova scotia can offer in terms of employment allows people to have that sort of ability.”
last year’s career fair not only resulted in over 200 hires, it also led to around 1,700 potential leads for future employees. people were invited to share their contact information and resumes through a qr code. nova scotia health followed up with everyone who did and that will happen again this year to feel out people’s interest.
advertisement
in a post on nova scotia health’s website, anna marenick, vice-president of people, culture and belonging, adds, “all nova scotia health team members and volunteers make valuable contributions to improving health care. the now-annual career fair is one of the many ways we attract new talent to different opportunities with nova scotia health, whether they’d like to stay in their hometown or explore a new part of the province.”
if people can’t attend the career fair there are other means to explore job opportunities. one easy way is to visit the job postings on nova scotia health’s website at jobs.nshealth.ca.
in addition to paid positions, there will also be information at the career fair about volunteer opportunities.
“maybe you aren’t quite at the place yet where you want to work full-time. maybe you need to get some canadian-based experience. maybe you’re still in school. being a volunteer is an amazing way to build that experience. it looks great on a resume,” says murphy. “we have some really cool volunteer opportunities. that’s definitely something that we highlight too.”
meanwhile, asked if they’ve set a goal on how many hires they’d like to see happen this year as a result of the job fair, murphy says there is no figure set in stone.
advertisement
“obviously, i’m a little bit competitive with myself. i would definitely love to see a higher number than what we did last year,” she says. “but for us, it’s really about let’s try to get as many people through the doors as possible. the rest will speak for itself.”
looking for a job?
the march 27 provincewide career job fair is being held at the following locations. the times for all sites is 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• yarmouth: yarmouth fire hall, 221 pleasant st.
• kentville: nscc kingstec campus, gymnasium, 236 belcher st.
• bridgewater: michelin social club, main gymnasium, 221 logan rd.
• halifax: nova centre, halifax convention centre, argyle suite (nsh and iwk recruitment), 1650 argyle st.
• dartmouth: cole harbour place, westphal & forest rooms, 51 forest hills parkway.
• truro: the rath eastlink community center, atrium, 625 abenaki rd.
• new glasgow: pictou county wellness centre, 2-2756 westville rd.
• amherst: nscc amherst learning centre, 147 s albion st.
• antigonish: st. fx university, bloomfield center, mackay room, 5555 university ave.
• sydney: holiday inn, ballroom, 300 esplanade.
• baddeck: inverary inn, 368 shore rd.
share story
