Turning Good Ideas Into Good Jobs

Meet Rosa Martins and four co-workers at Purdue Pharma Canada in Pickering. They’ll soon be joined by 53 new employees, thanks to Ontario government support.

Transcript

McGuinty Government Investment Supports R&D Expansion At Purdue Pharma

Ashok Goundalkar
Research and Development Scientist

Research and development scientist Ashok Goundalkar divides his days enjoying his two great passions – carefully tending his flower and vegetable gardens and his tropical plants, and formulating new products at Purdue Pharma Canada.

It’s a great place to work, he says of his 16 years with the Pickering-based international biopharmaceutical company. “They let you do what you enjoy doing,” and for Ashok, that means experimenting, formulating new products and developing new processes.

Ashok arrived in Canada nearly 20 years ago on a student visa, and after completing a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences at Dalhousie University, he returned to his native India to apply for permanent residence in Canada.

He’s seen a lot of changes at Purdue. “When I started with the company it was very small, just me and one other person in this lab. We’ve grown a lot over the years.”

Ashok and his family settled in a nearby quiet residential area of Scarborough, and he’s watched his family grow along with Purdue. He encourages his two sons to take an interest in science, and it’s obvious he’d be pleased if they followed in his footsteps. “But I encourage them to do anything they want, not necessarily in my field.”

The pride Ashok feels for his job is apparent. “I really enjoy solving problems,” he says, and he encourages young people with curious minds to discover their interests, study everything they can in that field and pursue their dreams.

Irene Jackman
Human Resources Associate

As a Human Resources Associate, primarily responsible for recruiting at Pickering-based Purdue Pharma Canada for the last six years, Irene Jackman knows that creating a strong family is all about finding the right fit.

“We’re careful about the people we bring into the company. We’re looking for solid skills, obviously, but it’s a family here as far as relationships are concerned.” She’s quick to add that Purdue “is an amazing company to work for. We have been able to attract quality people who want the company to succeed.”

That approach to staffing has paid off. Purdue’s staff service average is eight years, “although we have people who have been with us for 35 years, 25 years. And 20 per cent of the company has been with us for more than 15 years.” The company has grown to almost 300 people since it first set up shop in Pickering in 1990. But as Irene stated, “We are known to have a big footprint in the pharmaceutical industry, however our actual size and closeness, as well as how lean we run our operations, would surprise most people.”

Irene has made Durham Region her home for the last 20 years. “I attended Durham College and stayed. There are great opportunities in Durham Region for employment, and I like that my 18-year-old daughter can find opportunities to live and work here as well.”

In the end, it’s the personal touch that makes the difference at Purdue, she says.  Staff are encouraged to pursue professional training and development as well as personal opportunities.

“One employee is considering taking a leave of absence to climb Mount Everest. That’s something we as a company support. We would be very thrilled to follow his adventures,” she says. And true to her loyalty to her company, she adds, “Perhaps he’ll take a Purdue sign with him.”

Rosa Martins
Packaging Group Leader

Rosa Martins is a lifer; and her sister’s a lifer too.

Rosa arrived at the doors of Pickering-based Purdue Pharma Canada 36 years ago as a young woman with little education, looking for a job. She found a career and a great place to call home.

“I came from a big family, so school wasn’t an option. I left school when I was 16 and I had to get a job.” She started working at Purdue as an operator, “and I’ve been here ever since.” A few years later her sister joined the Purdue family, and together they can claim nearly 70 years experience with the multi-national pharmaceutical corporation.

At Purdue, Rosa found a strong, supportive management that was willing to help her achieve her goals. “Management always encouraged me to take courses. I didn’t have my high school diploma, but thanks to management here, I was able to go to night school and I got my diploma. That has made me very happy. Without their encouragement I don’t think I would have done it.”

And as her experience and skills grew, Rosa moved up in the company. Today she is the packaging group leader, organizing the day-to-day activities of her department and promoting training opportunities for others.

Reflecting on her 36 years with Purdue she says “The company has changed so much. When I started we had three operators in my department. Today we have 11 and we’re growing. I think the biggest change is yet to come, with the expansion and the third shift. It’s going to be very exciting. I think I’ll stick around until that takes place, and then I’ll retire,” she laughs.

There are a lot of lifers at Purdue, she says. “I’m probably the employee with the most years with the company,” she says, and quickly adds, “But I’m not the oldest.”

Ashten Ntewak
Quality Control Technologist (Contract)

Ashten Ntewak won’t compromise on quality.

Whether it’s the quality of her life or the quality of her work, Ashten is passionate about the quality in everything she is involved with.

Today she’s on contract as a quality control technologist at Pickering’s Purdue Pharma Canada, a job she landed following a very successful three-month stint at Purdue as a co-op student from the Durham College pharmaceutical and food science program,

“When I was a student, I was impressed at how nice everyone is here,” she says. But more than that, she was confident that Purdue offered the kind of career development opportunities she had dreamed of. “I was really well trained on everything, so when I graduated, I knew I wanted to work here.”

As a student in her hometown of Whitby, Ashten was drawn to science. “It was my best subject, something that I really liked. A job is something that you do every day, so you should enjoy what you’re doing.” That and “studying really hard”, she says, is the best advice for anyone who wants to follow a career in science.

To promote careers in science, and support students pursuing a career in the pharmaceutical industry, Purdue has recently announced a bursary in pharmaceutical chemistry at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology

As for Ashten, there is nothing she likes better than spending the day checking for quality – whether it is in packaging, analysing tablets for the quality of the active agreement, or just enjoying the high-quality environment all around her.

“The best part about working here is getting to know the people.”

Tina Petrovic
Quality Control Lab Support Supervisor

Tina Petrovic originally set out to be a nurse.

She had applied to the program at Seneca College, but there was an oversupply of nurses at the time, so she instead enrolled in the pharmaceutical technology program, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Today – after 27 years on the job - she’s the quality control lab support supervisor at Purdue Pharma Canada in Pickering, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. “It’s a real family here. You know just about everyone who works here,” she says.

“The best part about working here is there are many opportunities for employees to grow. If you want to upgrade your skills, there is a lot of support for that. Here I have the opportunity to achieve many things in my life,” she says.

Tina’s love of science has been passed on to her children, who also work in the scientific field, “but not in pharmacy.” She lives a short 20-minute drive from her office in Scarborough with her family and a new puppy that “has a lot of energy.” That gives her plenty of time to enjoy her other great passion – piano music.

She’s seen a lot of changes in the quarter-century-plus she has spent with Purdue. “It’s a lot bigger today. It was a million-dollar company with 50 staff when I started, and has grown to more than 300 million dollars in sales, and a staff of nearly 300.”

Tina has learned a great deal during her career and advises young people who want to enter this field to study, to be prepared to work hard, and to be patient. “And listen to people with experience and provide new ideas,” she adds.

People with experience, like Tina.