Several new job openings have been posted for the Island Lake region this week, giving residents fresh chances to find work close to home without having to leave their remote communities.
As of June 24, nine jobs are listed on Job Bank Canada for the area. The North West Company is looking to fill three retail store department head roles in Garden Hill, St. Theresa Point, and Wasagamack. The Garden Hill position, posted June 22, pays $48,000 a year, while the St. Theresa Point job offers $53,000 and the Wasagamack position $51,500.
The Garden Hill Education Authority is also hiring. Its listings include an educational assistant job at $20 an hour, first posted June 17, along with openings for teachers and a mental health counsellor. The education authority runs Kistiganwacheeng Elementary School and Garden Hill First Nation High School, serving students from nursery through Grade 12.
Garden Hill First Nation is a fly-in community in northeastern Manitoba, reachable only by air or winter ice roads. With about 3,000 residents, local jobs matter a lot for people who want to stay in their community. Teacher shortages have been a long-running issue here; the First Nation has brought in teachers from Jamaica and Europe and started a program to train local residents as educators.
The new retail and school positions come as the federal government works with Garden Hill and other Manitoba First Nations on plans for new school buildings, with studies and designs underway since late 2024.
