The delegation from the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa and POLO Toronto at the Irving Shipbuilding facility in Halifax, Nova Scotia. (Photo Credit: Ottawa PE)

A delegation from the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Toronto, led by Chargé d'Affaires, a.i. Francisco Noel R. Fernandez III, visited the facilities of Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax, Nova Scotia on 19 September 2022. The delegation was received by Human Resources Vice President Jim Rennie.

Arranged by Consul, a.h. Consuelo Lacson, the visit allowed the delegation to inspect the worksite where the fourth Arctic Off-Shore Patrol Vessel of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) is currently being built. With Irving Shipbuilding contracted to build the CAF's next generation Canadian Surface Combatants (CSC) fleet, the company is currently recruiting Filipino shipbuilding employees to meet its manpower requirement for this critical contract.

During the meeting which followed the worksite visit, Rennie provided an overview of the support services they have in place to ensure the successful integration of their prospective Filipino employees to the company and the Halifax community. The Philippine Embassy and POLO offered to support the recruitment of Filipino employees by Irving Shipbuilding through the necessary guidance in complying with overseas recruitment processes of the Philippine Government.