mécanicien

technicien en microbiologie alimentaire

manufacturing operator

ingénieur

quality assurance associate

Pillar5 Pharma Inc.

There is constant pressure on the staff to do more and more. Solutions about relieving the work load are rarely (if ever) discussed. The only "solution" is the company's cultural expectation to constantly work overtime and weekends. There are too many projects going on and not enough time to finish everything. Here are some examples of the high pressure environment at Pillar5:

1. Someone felt that they were under so much pressure that they started showing up to work at 4 am (their day usually started at 7). As far as I know, management did nothing to solve the issue.

2. Someone showed up to a meeting at noon and asked if the meeting could be moved because they "hadn't eaten in 24 hours". They proceeded to explain that after lunch the previous day, they worked all evening, got home and passed out from exhaustion without eating, then woke up and felt so much pressure to get to work that they skipped breakfast.

3. An employee was working overtime constantly and finally booked a vacation. Management was notified ahead of time, but shortly before the vacation the employee was told that if they left they wouldn't have a job when they get back. 

This company will attempt to take advantage of you. Don't waste your time working for them.



As a packager you will be responsible for working on a line. Management is unorganized and leadership wasnt great. Training was basically non existent as you are immediately thrown on to a line and the other packagers are supposed to teach you how to help run the line while also doing their duties. This is managements fault as there's no dedicated training time for specific machines. Your co workers will just do their best to teach you as you go along. Shifts are 10 hours for four days a week usually with weekly rotating day and night shifts. As you eventually become able to run part of the line the work becomes decent but usually monotonous. Not hard but fairly stressful at times.

The seemingly ancient machines break down during probably 50% of all shifts and mechanics are called to fix them while you either sit around or get put on another line. 

Packager wage is slightly above minimum an hour and that is great for students or young people but leaves something to be desired if you seek a career here.

Overall don't expect to know what you're doing for the first month or two atleast. Great as a summer or temporary job.

Pillar5 has been my workplace for the past five years. In that time, I have worked in four different departments and have enjoyed my time in each. From a Packager, to a Quality Operations Assistant, to a Quality Assurance Technician, to a Microbiology Analyst, I have developed a wide range of knowledge and experiences. Every department I have worked in, I've been greeted with kind, welcoming, and intelligent coworkers. The connections I've made within this facility has made Pillar5 feel like family. Aside from the great employees and career advancement, Pillar5 provides awesome benefits, 3 weeks of vacation from the start, profit share, and PERC events!         

Packagers are treated terribly, there is no one who really trains you, management is unhelpful and will not support you, half the time no one shows up for their shift leaving you short staffed. The pay is extremely low for the amount of work you need to do. If you’re exited when you hear the benefits they offer don’t get your hopes up, as a packager you could be working there for a year and up and still not receive a permanent contract. If your injured on the job more then once a year you can kiss your chances of a permanent contract goodbye.

Pillar5 is a place where you can grow your career... The people are super friendly here and lots of people have been here for a very long time, so there is no shortage of knowledge and help from others. I am a permanent employee so I have good benefits and the vacation time starts out at 3 weeks which is really nice. There are hiccups here and there but that is the same as anywhere you go... management and supervisors do a really good job at de-escalating problems and work with you and your team to solve them. I definitely hope to be here for a long time!

P5 is a great workplace for me. It's close to home for me and I've been able to advance into several positions in my (almost) 10 years with the company. The people are great to work with. Shift work isn't for everyone, but I have known people that love evening shifts. P5 is always looking at ways to engage employees and reward positive behaviors. There is a lot of growth, and the company is expanding, so lots of job opportunities!

Incomplete training. Lack of management around. Mistakes are passed off to the next person. Constant breakdowns land in losing hours. PPE not cleaned and used between employees, not enough. Do not keep a sterile environment. Rotating door of staff and management.  Instability. Time punches aren't accurate.

it was very stressful and many times over time as equipment failure or no one shows up to work a lot training needed but no one trains very unorganized they need to change management as everyone works hard but no understanding of what is actually required 

Pillar5 Pharma is an excellent facility to work at.  The employees are knowledgeable, dedicated and have created a great work environment. The facility is located in the town of Arnprior which is approximately 45 minutes from Ottawa, Ontario.  
The work is meaning full, the environment is clean and safety is highly respected.

It's a good company. Doing very well in the market and is trying hard to do the right things for employees. Like all places, there are some issues, but leadership is aware and works hard to address them.  No place is perfect and P5 definitely has some work to do - but people consistently try to tackle issues to make it a better place to work. 

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Mécanicien 1 salary reported	$25.00 per hour
Technicien en microbiologie alimentaire 2 salaries reported	$68,500 per year
Manufacturing operator 1 salary reported	$21.50 per hour
Ingénieur 1 salary reported	$100,000 per year
Quality assurance associate 1 salary reported	$65,000 per year

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