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Lowe’s looks to hire 160 employees at Saanich store

Job fair set for Friday and Saturday at Tillicum location
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Lowe’s home improvement store is renovating a 93

The coming Lowe’s home improvement store at Tillicum Centre is nearly here, and now it needs a staff.

The 93,000 square-foot store is expected to employ 160 people while also creating 10 seasonal positions, a significant boost to the region’s workforce.

Tony Cooper is the new store manager and is already interviewing ahead of the store’s two-day career fair on the upstairs level of Tillicum Centre on Friday and Saturday. He’ll oversee the hiring fair which could draw into the hundreds.

“It’s really trying to meet that candidate who fits the Lowe’s mould of passionate people who want to go above and beyond for the customer,” Cooper said.

The Saanich location is one of three new Lowe’s stores opening in B.C. this year along with Prince George and Nanaimo. Lowe’s already has locations at New Westminster and Abbotsford and is also the parent company for Rona.

There will be full-time, part-time and seasonal roles at Tillicum. The career fair includes managerial roles, sales specialists, night crew, cashiers, customer service associates, department associates and receiving clerks. There will also be a position for a garden centre pro.

Cooper will be part of a nine-member team running the Lowe’s career fair at Tillicum and said some positions could be filled immediately.

“We do hire on the spot, it’s primarily for those individuals you have to have in your building, and we know they are the ones we have to present a job offer to,” Cooper said.

For the most part, Cooper said the hiring team will invite successful applicants back for secondary interviews.

With so many applicants expected through the doors in a two-day period, it takes practice to keep a cool head, he added.

“You look for certain things, such as previous retail and home improvement experience, which is an asset, but is not required,” Cooper said.

For those hoping to be hired the day of, it’s best to be prepared, as there could be a wait while they draft an offer letter of employment.

“This one will be a unique store for us as it’s a two-storey building, needing 160 people,” he added.

The Saanich Lowe’s at Tillicum Centre is set to open in the late fall with Lowe’s Prince George and Nanaimo locations scheduled to open later this summer.

Locally, Lowe’s is replacing the failed Target store that opened at Tillicum in 2013 and pulled out in 2015. It employed more than 100 people.

In addition to its own stores, Lowe’s is also a parent company to other titles, such as Dick’s Lumber and Ace. The Lowe’s family of stores has more than 24,000 employees in Canada as well as more than 5,000 employees in the stores of Rona’s 535 corporate and independent affiliate dealers.

The Tillicum Lowe’s Career Fair is Friday, Aug. 12, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday, Aug. 13, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., on the upper level of the mall at 3170 Tillicum Rd.

Those unable to apply in person can submit their application to lowes.ca/careers.