Karan Atwal’s life goal was to earn a good living and find a nice place to raise a family. And he found it in Pictou County, thanks to the Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP).
Originally from Punjab, India, Atwal’s journey to Pictou County began with a student visa that enabled him to complete post-secondary education at Matrix College in Montreal where he graduated with a diploma in software testing. But that was not for Karan who, at that young age, had a bit of wanderlust.
“I just wanted to explore North America,” he says adding, “I’ve been to 45 states in the United States.” So, working in the trucking industry held great appeal for him. “My uncle operates his own trucking business in Brampton, Ontario. He makes a good living and has a nice home.”
This lifestyle was attractive to Atwal. “I was influenced by him. I did not go to work for him, but he influenced me and guided me in the direction of getting a Class 1 license. My goal was to earn a good living and find a nice place to raise a family.”
Atwal got his Class I license while in Ontario then worked there for several years before coming East. He had been to Nova Scotia with a friend and was impressed by the calm and quiet lifestyle. “My friend was a supervisor at Tim Hortons so he explained to me the immigration programs and the affordability here as compared to the bigger cities. I want to raise a family in a rural area rather than in a bigger city. So, it feels like home now, here. I’ve been here for over a year and a half. It’s a great place to raise a family.”
He and his wife welcomed their first child, a baby boy, last December.
“I love it here.”
To find work in Pictou County, Atwal first turned to Career Connections / Nova Scotia Works. “I needed a job,” he explains. With the help of that organization and the Pictou County Partnership, he found one as a truck driver at Balodis Inc., in Westville.
Dawn Matheson, office manager at the local company, hired Atwal through the immigration stream.
Balodis offers construction, trucking, and aggregate materials services, employing truck drivers, engineers, machine operators, Red Seal mechanics and labourers. Among its approximately 60 employees, about half a dozen are immigrants; in addition to East India, they hail from the Philippines, Ukraine, and Dubai.
“Karan has been with our company for close to a year,” she says, and she considers him to be a success story. “He fits in well here. He’s quite happy and is a very easy-going guy.”
Atwal hauls a 53-foot trailer filled with rubber material from the Michelin plant in Granton to the plant in Waterville. He makes two trips a day so typically works 12–14 hour days.
“The drive takes two hours and 45 minutes one way, and I do that twice a day,” Atwal says. “If everything works good, it’s 14 hours a day. And if it doesn’t, add an extra hour!” he laughs.
Matheson decided to hire Atwal through the Nova Scotia Nominee Program because of the current labour market shortage. “Right now, it’s nearly impossible to find qualified workers,” she explains.
Covid took its toll on the trucking industry – as it did most industries. “And right now, a lot of the older truck drivers are starting to retire” which leaves a shortage in the market.
The process of attracting and hiring key talent through the Nova Scotia Nominee Program was attractive, but not always straight forward, Matheson admits. “There was a lot of reading between the lines.”
But Matheson says she was helped greatly by Becky Cowen, Director of Immigration & Community Integration at the Pictou County Partnership. Cowen leads the Partnership’s immigration programs that include employer supports for using the Atlantic Immigration Program and the Nova Scotia Nominee Program to hire skilled international talent.
“Without Becky and the Pictou County Partnership, I don’t feel that I would have been able to complete the process.”
Matheson says she would certainly hire again through the Nova Scotia Nominee Program. “I would do it again for sure. What they’re doing is phenomenal.”
Atwal also remembers those who helped him on his immigration journey.
He praises Career Connections/Nova Scotia Works, Jason MacDonald, Becky Cowen, Victoria Curtis. “The paperwork was all looked after by them. They made it really easy for me.”
Atwal is very happy with his choice and has some words of advice and encouragement for others thinking about coming here. “It’s our responsibility to help in the communities where you got the help. Look how many people have helped me.”
He encourages other newcomers to come to Nova Scotia and stay. “If you see the potential and try to learn new things, there are some people in the community that will help you –either in trade, school or learning any kind of new skill– it only depends how you approach people and what kind of mentality you have. The peace that I have here is hard to find elsewhere. To me, peace is more important than money.”
If your business is looking to hire skilled international talent, connect with the Pictou County Partnership today to learn how we can support your Nova Scotia Nominee Program application process. Find out more here.