Recruiters lure UNB students out of the province

[SIZE="2"]University of New Brunswick students have been back in class less than a month, and already recruiters from across Canada have been interviewing them for jobs.

A recruiter from the Ottawa Hospital, Janet Brownlee, said a nationwide shortage of nurses forced her bosses to send recruiters to universities across the country.

"We needed to hire about 700 nurses this year to fill operational needs, and to cover people who are retiring. We're at about 300. We're not [going to] make the 700," Brownlee said.

Ontario Power Generation has sent Mark Arnone looking for engineering students at UNB.

"We've been to Dalhousie [in Nova Scotia], we're going to Memorial [in Newfoundland and Labrador], we're going to Quebec to some of the universities [there].

"So we travel across the country to make sure that we got our name out and give people different opportunities."

A student in environmental engineering, Kyle Blades, said he's willing to leave New Brunswick for a job in his field.

"It's a good way to get some money to pay off your student loans more quickly than you could do in Atlantic Canada, especially if they have benefits where they're [going to] pay for your housing, transportation to Alberta, flights and things like that."

Blades said more people would work in Atlantic Canada if there were better benefits and opportunities like the ones available in the West.

A UNB alumna, Kara Baisley, said she has been having a hard time finding a job in the environment field in New Brunswick, and is considering working outside the province.

"If it's something very appealing, then yes. I can't sit around on my bum all the time. If it's something really appealing then I might have to go. But I'm [going to] take my time and search hard [for a job] here," Baisley said.[/SIZE]