Greyback Construction has gone international to find workers to help build the William R. Bennett Floating Bridge.

A dozen men from Jamaica arrived in Kelowna a week ago to help construct the bridge, scheduled to open July 1, 2008.

Andre Campbell is one of those new employees. He's a concrete finisher working on the pontoons at the graving dock.

"I have a two year contract with Greyback and a one year working permit, so after the one year is up I have to go back to Jamaica and re-new the working permit," says Campbell.

He says he learned about the job through a training agency where he learned his trade in Jamaica.

"They trained me from a level one to a level two, so they knew all about me and my qualifications. They called me and told me about the job here. I thought it was a good opportunity so I came."

Campbell has high marks for both his fellow workers and the job site.

"It's a good job. The guys are very friendly and the working environment is very safe. Safety is number 1."

While he is enjoying the job and is considering a permanent re-location to Canada down the road, there is a part of his homeland that Campbell already misses.

"Jamaica is so warm and tropical while here, it's cold and I hear it's going to get much colder. That's what I'm worried about, the cold."

When asked if he has ever seen snow, Campbell's reaction --- NO!

Meantime, Ministry of Transportation Project Manager, Jon Buckle, says he is not surprised to see newspaper ads looking for bridge workers.

"In general, I think the contractor is always looking for workers. They've got a pretty good stable of core workers, but there's always some turnover so I would expect them to be looking for workers right up to the end of the job," says Buckle.

He says the job market will not be an issue in finishing the job on time.

Buckle adds there are about 250 workers at the job site, with 220 to 230 working at any given time.