Our Stories
When Angie joined Halifax Shipyard in 2010, she hoped she’d found a career she could stick with until retirement. The National Shipbuilding Strategy and revitalization of the Canadian shipbuilding industry has made that hope a reality.
A Welder Apprentice at Irving Shipbuilding, Angie works in Ship Repair, currently helping refit and repair HMCS Halifax, and previously worked on HMCS Ville de Québec, something Angie is particularly proud of.
“HMCS Ville de Québec is the best ship we’ve seen thus far. It’s the best ship I’ve seen in 15 years. It looked fantastic leaving the Graving Dock in June 2023. I am extremely proud of the work that our entire team did on that ship. It’s amazing to see the frigates come through the repair and refit process, ready to be handed back over to the Royal Canadian Navy.”
Shipbuilding is an experience shared through generations for Angie’s family, as Angie’s father worked at Halifax Shipyard in the 1980s as a Pipefitter, and her two daughters work in staff positions at Halifax Shipyard.
“My daughters love it here. They find the work that I’m doing very interesting, and they’ll ask me questions all the time. It makes me happy that they’re proud. Usually, it’s the other way around, and of course I’m proud of them, but it’s nice to know that they’re proud as well. My dad would always ask me questions about what was going on down at the yard once I started working here, and it’s going to be like that with my girls down the road, and who knows, maybe their children as well!”
What started as a career change has resulted in finding an incredibly fulfilling career repairing ships for Canada.
“I’m very proud to be able to say I am a part of this. Building and repairing ships for the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Coast Guard is such an honour, says Angie. “Everyone in my family wants to come to the shipyard on Family Day each year to see what I’m working on. Not many people can say they work on such an important project as this. When I retire, I’ll follow everything that goes on at the shipyard for the rest of my life. It’s a huge part of me and it always will be.”