Vancouver Aquarium preparing to reopen soon, now hiring to fill 100 jobs
Officials with the Vancouver Aquarium stated today they are busy preparing for a reopening of the attraction in Stanley Park over the coming weeks, and are now ready to ramp up the size of their customer-facing workforce.
The aquarium has been temporarily closed to the public for nearly a year, after it briefly reopened with a limited capacity for about nine weeks in Summer 2020.
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A two-day outdoor job fair will be held on-site this weekend — Friday, July 23 and Saturday, July 24, 2021, each day from 9 am to 4 pm — to fill 100 positions. Applicants are invited to meet hiring representatives in the plaza next to the entrance of the aquarium.
The positions in need of filling include:
- Food and Beverage ā Associates and Supervisors
- Retail ā Store Sales Associates
- Kitchen ā Pastry Chef, Kitchen Supervisors, Line cooks, Junior chefs, Stewards and Stewarding Supervisors
- Guest Experience ā Guest Service Ambassadors, Admissions and Ticketing
- Building Operations ā Building Services AttendantsĀ
Anyone interested in working at the attraction should bring their resume. Selected applicants may be eligible for offer letters the same day.
“This job fair is a chance for those in the Lower Mainland to be a part of one of the most iconic attractions in the city and work with a very talented team dedicated to the conservation of aquatic life,” said Vancouver Aquarium executive director Clint Wright in a statement.
Most of the aquarium’s customer-facing workforce were laid off at the end of Summer 2020, as health safety capacity restrictions mandated by the provincial government were insufficient to break even on the operating costs of opening the attraction to the public.
The prolonged temporary closure starting on September 9, 2020 allowed the aquarium to slow down the burn on its cash reserves. The aquarium ended its initial closure due to the onset of the pandemic with a reopening on June 26, 2020.
But Ocean Wise, the not-for-profit organization that owned the aquarium, was unable to climb out of its dire financial situation. In order to prevent the permanent closure of the aquarium this year, Ocean Wise made the decision in April 2021 to sell the attraction to Atlanta-based Herschend Enterprises.
The company also owns and operates two other aquariums — Newport Aquarium in Kentucky, and Adventure Aquarium in New Jersey — but it is perhaps best known for its ownership and operations of major amusement and theme parks such as Dollywood.
Herschend previously indicated the aquarium will continue to be managed by the locally-based, longtime team of the aquarium, with veteran Wright as the head of the attraction.
The company has plans to conduct extensive public consultation on future improvements to the aquarium and its overall direction.
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