Employer spotlight: A Q&A with Atlantic Towing
![A designed image with a teal block of colour and a blue block of colour and white and blue font that reads: Employer Spotlight, A Q&A with Atlantic Towing, and a round icon of a handshake.](../../../../img/aboutnscc/news-and-stories/stories/2024-employer-spotlight-atlantic-towing.jpg)
Learn why Atlantic Towing hires NSCC graduates.
Atlantic Towing is an industry leader providing marine transportation services and solutions across Canada and beyond. Specializing in towage and offshore marine and product support, Atlantic Towing has offices across Canada with operations extending to the Arctic and Trinidad and Tobago.
Maintaining a strong relationship with the Nautical Institute at Strait Area Campus supporting students and graduates through skills competitions, campus events, and more – Atlantic Towing is also a long-time employer of NSCC graduates.
Kat Rooney, Recruitment/Fleet Support Lead for Atlantic Towing shares why:
Please share some details about your role/position.
My role allows me to do a great variety of tasks that always keep me hopping. I manage our seafarer recruitment as well as lead our cadet program. I also lead our payroll department and I take care of employee engagement in our Harbour Coastal division. The one common denominator is my passion for people!
![A portrait of Kat Rooney of Atlantic Towing.](../../../../img/aboutnscc/news-and-stories/content-images/2024-employer-spotlight-quote-atlantic-towing-rooney.jpg)
Please describe your business/industry and the areas you serve.
Atlantic Towing is a world class marine service provider, we specialize in port and terminal tug services, coastal towing, emergency towing and offshore oil and gas exploration and production support.
We go where the work takes us, could be anywhere in the world. We currently have vessels in British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and the North Sea.
![A portrait of NSCC grad Connor Pyne. They are on board a ship, wearing protective safety gear.](../../../../img/aboutnscc/news-and-stories/content-images/2024-employer-spotlight-content-atlantic-towing-connor2.jpg)
Approximately how many NSCC graduates do you employ?
Atlantic Towing employs 450 seafarers. Of those 450, 136 seafarers are in our Harbour Coastal Division and approximately 90 of those seafarers are NSCC alumni.
In our offshore fleet, we have 314 seafarers and approximately 30 are NSCC alumni.
As an employer, what skills or qualities do you look for when hiring?
We look for people who are excited about life on the water. We want people who are very safety-minded and have their eyes set on their future career.
Why do you choose to hire NSCC graduates? What sets them apart from other applicants?
We hire graduates from NSCC because we feel the excitement for learning from them.
From our many interviews, one theme that seems to stick out is the love and respect NSCC graduates have for their teachers and what they’re learning, which shows us that loyalty and gaining knowledge are at the forefront of their minds.