Seafood processors seeking over 4,000 workers

Trident Seafoods South Plant employees Pedro Saucedo, left, Javier Salazar, center, and Rolando Adajar, right, give a salmon filleting demonstration during the Copper River Salmon Jam on Saturday, July 14, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)

Seafood processors are looking to hire over 4,000 full-time temporary seafood workers for summer employment, and applications are being accepted now at Alaska Job Centers.

“These jobs provide an excellent opportunity for people who enjoy physical work, want to establish a work history, earn and save money, quickly move up the career ladder, and see other parts of Alaska,” said Bernardita Dobson, lead employment services technician in the Seafood Employment Office at the Anchorage Midtown Job Center.

Those seeking such employment can consider current openings at Dutch Harbor, Naknek and Juneau, to name a few locations. More than a dozen seafood processors have openings at this time, Dobson said.

Seafood processors have been working in partnership with the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development to improve the rate of hire of Alaska residents. This provides a cost savings over hiring foreign labor brokers, paying fees for labor importation, plus reducing the high cost of transporting foreign workers to Alaska.

The seafood processing industry is the largest employer of nonresident hires in the state, according to Labor Commissioner Tamika Ledbetter, who said Alaska residents make up less than 25 percent of that workforce.

“We encourage and appreciate employers who make efforts to recruit Alaskans who depend on this seasonal income to support their families and local economies where unemployment rates are high,” Ledbetter said.

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Job seekers can watch a 20-minute seafood processing orientation available online at jobs.alaska.gov/seafood/processing.html.

Job openings are posted in Alaska’s Labor Exchange System (ALEXsys) at jobs.alaska.gov, including higher paying skilled and technical posts.

Sign up for seafood job e-mail alerts online at  public.govdelivery.com/accounts/AKDOL/subscriber/new?topic_id=AKDOL_87.

Job seekers living in rural areas may call the Alaska Seafood Employment Office at 1-800-473-0688 or their nearest Alaska Job Center, jobs.alaska.gov/offices/index.html for further information.

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