Port remains positive on job prospects for Prince Rupert

Containers moving through the
Port of Prince Rupert 
(PRPA photo)

The Port of Prince Rupert has offered up some thoughts on the job prospects of the future for operations on the North Coast, and they remain quite bullish on the future, holding firm to their commentary of earlier this year on how they view the upcoming expansion of existing and new port facilities and how that will impact on the creation of jobs.

Yesterday, we provided a look at a report on the prospect of automation commissioned by the International Longshore Workers Union, which provided for a stark warning of the prospect of job loss should automation become prevalent on British Columbia ports.

The findings were particularly dire for Prince Rupert with the ILWU report noting that with the port holding such a dominance on the local labour market, the job losses in Prince Rupert would make this community among some of the hardest hit in BC.

In Prince Rupert, one quarter of middle-income and fully two-thirds of high-income employment is at risk of elimination due to future automation. -- From the PRISM report prepared for the ILWU

The North Coast Review contacted the Port of Prince Rupert for a comment on the ILWU report, and while they don't respond to the document directly; in a statement received Thursday afternoon from Ken Veldman VP of Public Affairs and Sustainability, the PRPA highlights much of the positive themes of recent presentations on the port's future.

“Terminals in Prince Rupert have seen significant employment growth over the last 10 years. This represents in excess of 800 of the Gateway’s 3600 jobs and growing. In the last 2 years alone, we have seen over 100 FTE added to the terminal workforce. 

New terminal expansion projects in Prince Rupert continue to be based on employment-intensive terminal models and overall Port of Prince Rupert activity is forecast to continue to grow. To cite one example, Fairview Terminal is working to expand capacity by 33% by 2022 and this will create additional long-term employment. 

Port activity is an important component of the Canadian economy and the Port of Prince Rupert is a globally competitive gateway for trade. To maintain that competitive position, optimization of the supply chain will need to continue. The nature of jobs across every industry is always changing and technology has a role to play in improving competitiveness and terminal safety. 

PRPA and our partners do not foresee job reductions as the Port continues to grow.”

Port President and CEO Shaun Stevenson reviewed the year 2018
for the public in June as part of  the Port of Prince Rupert's 
Annual Public Meeting
(photo from Port Live Stream)

In mid June, as part of their Annual Public Meeting, the Port outlined some its path forward with expansion plans at Fairview Terminal key to future development along with other industrial projects that have been proposed.

A follow up report on the Economic impact of increased trade through Prince Rupert also highlighted the amount of job creation that port related development has provided so far.

For more items of interest related to Port development and issues see our archive pages below:

Labour Issues
Port of Prince Rupert
DP World (Fairview Terminal)

Cross posted from the North Coast Review.