Thank you for your interest in employment with NorQuest Seafoods. NorQuest operates on-shore processing facilities and floating processors throughout the state of Alaska. There are many elements to a successful seafood company. We need fisherman to deliver fish to us. Our customers supply us with the revenues we need to survive and grow. Our plants, boats and equipment were built or purchased with monies from our shareholders. The productive element that makes everything work is the employees. Productivity is the key element and that means many things:

• Having a positive attitude towards work and other employees
• Hustling – not slacking it
• Loving your fish – producing a high quality product
• Growing and getting better at your job
• Being responsible for your work and people you may supervise
• Working together as a team
  

Employment Information
email: employment@norquest.com
Phone: 206-281-7022
Download a job application (click here)
(adobe reader required)

Locations: Ketchikan
Petersburg
Cordova

Working on a seafood processing line can be wet, cold, boring work.  Most positions on the line require long hours of standing in one place and performing the same repetitive tasks over and over.  During the peak of a season we may work 14 or more hours per day 7 days per week.  We may go several weeks without a day off.  By the same token, we may go for periods  of time without fish to process.  During these times there will be little or no work, hence little or no pay.  Remember, work is dependent on fish and there are no guarantees to anyone how much fish there will be or when it will arrive.  In order to make the most of this experience it is very important that each person stay through the end of the season.  Leaving early is bad for the employee and bad for the company.

NorQuest does have some bunkhouse facilities available at all locations.  Rooms are shared with 1 or more other people.  Most bunkhouses are sex-segregated.  Bathrooms are communal and down the hall.  We have a tremendously diverse workforce and it is imperative that all people be able to live and work in close quarters and still get along with others.  NorQuest has a zero tolerance policy for drugs and alcohol on company premises.  Other services such as meal service, laundry facilities, etc. vary from facility to facility.

So why would anyone want to come to Alaska to do this?  First and foremost is OVERTIME!  Seafood is a highly perishable product.  When it is delivered fresh to NorQuest we must process and freeze, can or package as quickly as possible to ensure our customers receive the finest and freshest products possible.  It is possible that for some periods of time you may be able to work as much as 16 – 18 hours per day!  Any hours worked in excess of 8 regular hours in a day (midnight to midnight) are overtime hours and are paid at one and one half times your regular rate of pay.  Also, any hours worked in excess of forty regular hours in a week (Monday through Sunday) are overtime and are paid at one and one half times your regular rate of pay.  As an example, if you worked 14 hours per day for a 7 day Monday through Sunday period you would be paid for 40 regular hours and 58 overtime hours.

Other good reasons to go are the places and things you get to see and the people you get to meet.  Coastal Alaska is one of the most beautiful places on earth.  For people who like to fish, take pictures or just appreciate nature a trip to Alaska will be remembered for life.  For more information on the Alaska locations you will find links to the various communities web pages in our location links below.  The people involved in the seafood industry are a wide-ranging group.  Our employees come from all over the world and can have any background imaginable.  One thing they all share, though, is a sense of adventure and the willingness to take a chance.

NorQuest is proud of our product and proud of the reputation we have created with our customers around the nation and around the world.  In order to continue and enhance this reputation it is imperative that we adhere to the quality guidelines in each facility.  This means that all employees must follow the good manufacturing practices and sanitation guidelines in his/her facility.  These include weighing boxes of product carefully, paying attention to which fish are going into which box, using hand and foot dips appropriately, wearing a hair net, refraining from all tobacco use on the production floor and a host of other things that can have an impact on the quality of our product.  Only by maintaining NorQuest’s status as the #1 brand in our markets can the company continue to grow and thrive.

In order for NorQuest to succeed we also need good people.  NorQuest has many career opportunities for people who enjoy the work and enjoy being in Alaska.  All of our senior managers have done more than their share of time on the “slime line.”  NorQuest offers a 401-k retirement and profit sharing plan for employees in their second year of employment who worked at least 1,000 hours during their first year.  For people employed in benefit-eligible positions we have a medical/dental benefit program and generous amounts of paid time off.  NorQuest is an exciting company that has experienced a large amount of growth in the last few years and hopes to continue on that path.  Your first step in a career path is to come to Alaska, complete that first season and decide if you want to come back for more!

So, if you go to Alaska what should you bring? 

Good items to bring:

·        Heavy duty raingear and waterproof boots (sometimes available for purchase at the facility)

·        Bedding (usually twin size) and a pillow

·        Towels and shower shoes

·        Sufficient clothes to go one week between launderings

·        Backup set of eyewear for contact lens or eyeglass wearers

·        Baseball cap to wear on the production line (in lieu of hair net)

·        Prescription medications to last the duration of your stay in Alaska

·        Playing cards, games, books, VHS movies, cassettes & CD’s

·        Cameras (disposals recommended)

·        Fishing pole

Items not to bring:

·        Weapons

·        Illegal drugs/controlled substances

·        Materials (printed, electronic or multi-media) which might create a hostile work environment

It is the policy of NorQuest Seafoods that sexual harassment is unacceptable in the workplace.  Sexual harassment includes but is not limited to comments, slurs, innuendo, cartoons, pranks, physical contact or requests for sexual favors wherein such conduct is made a term or condition of employment, submission to or rejection of such conduct is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting the individual or such conduct has the purpose or effect of interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.  Any employee who is aware of any case of sexual harassment should report the alleged act immediately to his/her supervisor, the Plant Manager at his/her location or the Human Resources Manager at NorQuest Seattle.

Please note that NorQuest can only employ individuals who are legally eligible to work in the United States.  In order to begin employment you will need to complete a Department of Justice I-9 “Employment Eligibility Verification” form and provide us with genuine documents which verify your identity and eligibility to work.  Those documents can be one document from List A below or one document from List B and one document from List C below.

LIST A – DOCUMENTS THAT ESTABLISH BOTH IDENTITY AND EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY

(1) U.S. Passport (unexpired or expired)  (2) Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (INS Form N-560 or N-561)  (3) Certificate of Naturalization (INS Form N-550 or N-570)  (4) Unexpired foreign passport with I-551 stamp or attached INS form I-94 indicating unexpired employment authorization  (5) Alien Registration Receipt Card with photograph (INS Form I-151 or I-551)  (6) unexpired Temporary Resident Card (INS Form I-688)  (7) unexpired Employment Authorization Card (INS Form I-688A)  (8) unexpired Reentry Permit (INS form I-327)  (9) unexpired Refugee Travel Document (INS form I-571)  (10) unexpired Employment Authorization Document issued by the INS which contains a photograph (INS Form I-688B)

LIST B – DOCUMENTS THAT ESTABLISH IDENTITY

(1) Driver’s license or ID card issued by a state or outlying possession of the United States provided it contains a photograph or information such as name, date of birth, sex, height, eye color, and address  (2) ID card issued by federal, state, or local government agencies or entities provided it contains a photograph or information such as name, date of birth, sex, height, eye color, and address  (3) school ID card with a photograph  (4) voter’s registration card  (5) U.S. Military card or draft record  (6) Military dependent’s ID card  (7) U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Card  (8) Native American tribal document  (9) Driver’s license issued by a Canadian government authority  For persons under age 18 who are unable to present a document listed above:  (10) school record or report card  (11) clinic, doctor, or hospital record  (12) day-care or nursery school record

LIST C – DOCUMENT THAT ESTABLISH EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY

(1) U.S. social security card issued by the Social Security Administration (other than a card stating it is not valid for employment)  (2) Certification of Birth Abroad issued by the Department of State (Form FS-545 or Form DS-1350)  (3) original or certified copy of a birth certificate issued by a state, county, municipal authority or outlying possession of the United States bearing an official seal  (4) Native American tribal document  (5) U.S. Citizen ID Card (INS Form I-197)  (6) ID Card for use of Resident Citizen in the United States (INS Form I-179)  (7) unexpired employment authorization document issued by the INS (other than those listed under List A)

Please explore the various links below to find out more specific information about our various locations.

Ketchikan        Petersburg        Cordova