As an HR Generalist at Molson Coors, Andrea Tomlin knows all about working at the company, with insight on everything from training and hiring to daily work roles and responsibilities.
Familiar with the big picture, she stresses how crucial skilled tradespeople are to operations at the company.
“Our skilled tradespeople perform equipment care and maintain reliability,” she says. “They also champion predictive and preventative maintenance to provide sustainable equipment uptime and take part in our work planning process.”
These roles aren’t just important, she explains – they’re crucial.
“Our skilled tradespeople are vital to our business.”
Working at Molson Coors
Molson Coors hires a variety of skilled tradespeople, including Millwrights, Electricians, Plumbers and Steamfitters, Control Technicians and Instrumentation Technicians.
“There are several different areas that our skilled tradespeople work in from our keg room, brewhouse, powerhouse and our packaging lines for bottles and cans,” Andrea explains. “There is so much to learn and experience by working with the different people, processes and equipment in each area.”
Molson Coors prioritizes employee learning and growth, she adds.
“We offer education reimbursement and training onsite. We have a wealth of knowledge in our current tradespeople who are great to learn from. Our brewery has friendly and supportive people and a great history of employees who have worked here for 30 plus years.”
The company’s commitment to internal advancement plays a big role in retaining employees in the long term, Andrea says.
“We always look at our internal candidates for any positions we have open and reach out to those who are interested and have the proven talent.”
The right skills
“Our Toronto brewery is over 50 years old. Our skilled tradespeople work hard to maintain the productivity and longevity of the brewery.”
—Andrea Tomlin, HR Generalist
Interested in starting a career in skilled trades at Molson Coors? According to Andrea, a little experience goes a long way.
“It is important to have hands-on training and experience working with certain processes, techniques (based on each individual trade) that we are working with on-site,” she explains. “Tradespeople must also have their Red Seal Certification for Ontario.”
She adds that Molson Coors is currently in the process of working with their union to establish an apprenticeship program. “Our trades are unionized,” she explains. “They are part of N.U.P.G.E Local 325, which is our largest union onsite.”
There are still lots of opportunities to learn more about Molson Coors, she adds. “Those who are interested can reach out to our HR Department to understand what we may be looking for.”
A Molson Coors person
Besides the necessary technical background and experience, Andrea says personal disposition is a big factor in determining employee fit at Molson Coors.
“Attitude is important,” she says. “We want people who have a positive attitude and self-directed – people who take the initiative to ask questions and seek out the answers.”
The capacity for self-direction goes hand in hand with skilled trades work, but Andrea adds that you’ll need to be team-oriented as well. “Teams are an integral part of the Brewery so it is important to have candidates who are able to integrate themselves well with a group and have a positive attitude,” she says.
According to Andrea, if you’re the right candidate for the job, working in a skilled trades position at Molson Coors will be the start of a promising career.
“The Toronto Brewery is a very fast-paced work environment,” says Andrea. “You will never get bored!”