New career opportunities are a given at High Liner Foods

When Ryan Wall was a kid in Cape Breton eating fish from Lunenburg-based High Liner Foods Inc., he couldn’t have predicted that in 2008, his first job out of college would be at the leading North American processor and marketer of value-added frozen seafood. “I had no idea how many opportunities there would be for me here,” he says.

After studying computer electronics at Nova Scotia Community College, he accepted a support desk analyst contract role at High Liner’s Halifax office. “I was passionate about technology, and that contract gave me a really good feel for the company,” he says. In the first six months, he travelled to the Massachusetts and New Hampshire plants to work on radio frequency computers on the forklifts.

“That experience was pretty cool for a young, up-and-coming employee,” says Wall, now director of IT design and delivery. “I relished those early opportunities and jumped at them. My career growth has had a lot of progression, and it has been a combination of ambition, support and well-timed luck.”

Vice president of operations Ed Snook enjoys helping new employees find their footing and encouraging them to grow. “We’re a big enough company to have presence in the market, but small enough that we all know each other,” he says. “We look at our people’s total potential because we view our talent as a company-wide pool.”

Snook grew up in Riverport, N.S., 15 minutes away from High Liner’s head office and processing plant in Lunenburg. His father was a commercial fisherman, but Snook opted for a career on land in the food industry, first in Nova Scotia, then the United States. In 2018, his wife handed him a printout for the general manager’s position at High Liner.

“I threw my resumé in, and the recruiter called the next day,” says Snook. When he walked into the processing plant on his first day, he said hello to three employees who were former high-school classmates. “It was like coming home,” he says, “and it still feels that way.”

Snook is proud of High Liner’s people-first culture, where recognition plays an important role in the workplace experience for plant employees, many of whom have nearly 50 years of service. From the quarterly Anchor Program that rewards employees for positive safety, quality, production or teamwork behaviours, to recognition meals prepared and served by management to their teams, the company makes a genuine effort to show employees they’re valued.

Development opportunities also include a path for plant employees to join a company-paid apprenticeship program within the trades to help employees earn their Red Seal certifications.

Close-knit teams give back to their community, from volunteering at food banks each fall to clean-up activities in the spring. “High Liner’s corporate purpose is ‘nourishing lives,’ and our employees believe that volunteering is an important social responsibility,” says Wall. “Plus, it feels good to lend a hand.”

It also feels good to have a hybrid schedule that provides employees with flexibility to choose when to work from home and office, especially now that Wall has a toddler. He also took three months of parental leave when his son was born. And Wall appreciates the annual summer-hours policy from May through September, where employees take every Friday afternoon off after making up those hours during the week.

Having been supported by senior leaders throughout his High Liner journey, Wall now makes the time to do the same for others. “I’ve stayed here because of the continual progress I’m making in my career,” says Wall, “and a love for the people, the culture and my work.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing the winners of this year's Atlantic’s Top Employers competition, published March 25, 2025 in The Globe and Mail. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.