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2019 edition

This year’s winners have identified what the best and brightest of Canada’s young talent wants in a workplace

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Employees from Montreal-based Rio Tinto take to the water in the annual dragon boat charity fundraiser.

Canada’s Top Employers for Young People is the most popular special-interest competition for good reason. These winning organizations have identified what the next generation wants in the workplace and they deliver. So naturally, it’s where the best and brightest of Canada’s young talent go to check out career opportunities.

The competition is a valuable resource for recent graduates and young professionals in finding the right fit, whether that’s a paid internship in their industry, a chance to continue training and learning on the job or an organization that aligns with their own socially conscious values. By showcasing what each employer has to offer, the competition provides job seekers with an insider’s view of the organization, highlighting their most progressive and innovative human-resources initiatives.

Many of these initiatives are designed especially to support younger workers, allowing them to grow and thrive as they begin their careers. For example, Mott MacDonald, a Vancouver-based engineering firm, has created an 18-month Horizons program to help young professionals identify their development needs and to provide tools to manage their careers in meaningful ways.

Most of the winning organizations also welcome students as part of their youth outreach, such as Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto, which manages a summer-student research program providing undergraduate students with the opportunity to conduct research alongside leading children’s rehabilitation scientists. Often companies connect with schools or community organizations, including Jazz Aviation LP in Dartmouth, N.S., which partners with 17 postsecondary institutions to provide collaboration on training and curriculum plus up-to-date information on industry best practices.

With competition increasing for Canada’s skilled and educated labour force, any organization interested in attracting and recruiting talented young people would be smart to study this year’s winners. The new skills, ideas and energy that young people bring into the workplace are enormous.

Methodology

The editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers at Toronto-based Mediacorp Canada Inc. evaluate each employer based on the programs and initiatives they offer to attract and retain younger workers. These include tuition assistance, the availability of co-op or work-study programs, mentorship and training programs, including benefits such as bonuses paid when employees complete certain courses or professional designations. The editors also review each employer’s career management program, looking for initiatives that can help younger workers advance more quickly in the organization. Last, the editors look at the average age of employees at each organization to better understand the composition and profile of their work force.

Any employer with its head office or principal place of business in Canada may apply for this competition through the Canada’s Top 100 Employers application process. Organizations of any size may participate, whether private or public sector. Employers complete a single application for the national, regional and special-interest competitions, including Canada’s Top Employers for Young People.

More detailed reasons for selection, explaining why each of the winners was chosen, are published on the competition’s website: https://www.canadastop100.com/young_people/

Canada’s Top Employers for Young People 2019

Aboriginal Peoples Television Network Inc. / APTN, Winnipeg. Television broadcasting; 138 employees. Partnered with Adam Beach Film Institute to support Indigenous students in their field of study while attending the school.

Accenture Inc., Toronto. Management consulting; 4,864 employees. Recruits a cohort of graduates three times a year from NPower, a charity that launches underserved youth into IT careers, placing them in a specialized six-month internship.

AIG Insurance Co. of Canada, Toronto. Insurance; 431 employees. Offers AIG Insurance Academy, a two-year structured training and development program to support employees as they begin their careers.

Alberta Health Services / AHS, Edmonton. Health-care services; 46,765 employees. Manages a transitional graduate nurse program, a residency program to provide organizational, clinical and social support to recent graduates.

ArcelorMittal Dofasco G.P., Hamilton, Ont. Iron and steel mills; 10,430 employees. Provides extensive onboarding for new employees with personal and professional development opportunities as well as an off-site experiential learning program.

ATB Financial, Edmonton. Credit union; 4,846 employees. Offers a summer-student program, ATB 101, including student roles which are models of positions at ATB, providing real work experience.

Baycrest Health Sciences, North York, Ont. Nursing-care facilities; 949 employees. Offers a 12-week paid summer research internship, providing undergraduate students the opportunity to work in the laboratory of a Rotman Research Institute scientist.

BC Hydro, Vancouver. Hydroelectric power generation; 5,462 employees. Manages a two-year engineer-in-training program for recent engineering grads that includes rotations through multiple areas of the organization.

BC Public Service, Victoria. Provincial government; 28,452 employees. Helps provide working experience to postsecondary students through co-op placements for four-, eight- or 12-month terms.

Bell Canada, Verdun, Que. Communications; 38,613 employees. Manages a number of graduate leadership programs to help cultivate the next generation of leaders.

Bennett Jones LLP, Calgary. Law firm; 865 employees. Invests significantly in training and development, providing financial support for offsite training and university courses and seminars.

Boeing Canada Operations Ltd., Winnipeg. Aircraft equipment manufacturing; 1,808 employees. Partners with the Technical Vocational High School and the University of Manitoba’s engineering program to provide two-year mentorship opportunities for students.

Boston Consulting Group of Canada Ltd., Toronto. Management consulting; 300 employees. Hosts the Bridge to BCG program for current PhD, MD and JD students as well as post-docs considering careers in consulting.

Bruce Power LP, Tiverton, Ont. Nuclear power generation; 4,114 employees. Plays host to one of nine Canadian chapters of the North American Young Generation Nuclear organization.

Cactus Restaurants Ltd., Vancouver. Restaurants; 1,408 employees. Launched an internal management boot camp to bring on their newest leaders and expand their leadership toolkit.

Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd., Toronto. Retail; 65,000 employees. Manages a 36-month Next Generation Talent Rotational program to help aspiring IT professionals develop broad technological expertise.

Capital One Bank (Canada Branch), North York, Ont. Credit card issuing; 1,242 employees. Offers 48-hour Innovation Days which allow employees to break from their regular jobs and work in teams on an innovative project that interests them.

Capital Power Corp., Edmonton. Electric power generation; 569 employees. Provides a 15-week summer work experience program to employees' family and friends pursuing postsecondary studies.

Cargill Ltd., Winnipeg. Food and agricultural products; 7,768 employees. Manages a Young Professionals Network which consists of more than 1,000 like-minded peers worldwide.

Centre for International Governance Innovation, Waterloo, Ont. Business association; 80 employees. Hired 20 student research assistants from across Canada for three- to six-month terms.

CIBC, Toronto. Banking; 36,203 employees. Plays host to think tanks and thought forums to provide new talent with unique ways of demonstrating their skills.

Cisco Systems Canada Co., Toronto. Computer and equipment manufacturing; 1,741 employees. Offers an international early-in-career exchange, pairing participants with others for a one-week exchange to a Cisco host country.

Citi Canada, Mississauga. Banking; 1,198 employees. Manages a number of new graduate/campus programs to provide recent graduates with opportunities to gain career-level experience.

Cole Engineering Group Ltd., Markham, Ont. Engineering; 265 employees. Manages a Young Professionals Group offering opportunities for co-op students and recent graduates to go on site field trips with experts, attend conferences and participate in social events.

Connect Hearing, Victoria. Audiologists and hearing instrument practitioners; 320 employees. Supports ongoing employee development through a number of unique training opportunities.

Corus Entertainment Inc., Toronto. Media production and broadcasting; 2,973 employees. Works with the Partnership to Advance Youth Employment program to offer internship opportunities to young people under the age of 30.

D2L Corp., Kitchener, Ont. Custom computer programming; 591 employees. Manages a two-year graduate software rotational program, featuring rotations through four different teams in product development.

DeltaWare Systems Inc., Charlottetown. Custom computer programming; 92 employees. Offers mentoring to new employees as well as a professional development allowance to assist employees interested in further developing their skills.

Department of Finance Canada, Ottawa. Federal government; 742 employees. Provides unique opportunities for ongoing professional development including international assignments with partner organizations such as the World Bank.

Desjardins Group / Mouvement des caisses Desjardins, Lévis, Que. Credit union; 39,587 employees. Maintains a Young Executives Network for managers under the age of 35.

Dialog, Edmonton. Architecture; 668 employees. Manages the leadership program Build DIALOG, designed to develop high performers under 40 to better understand and perform their role.

Ecclesiastical Insurance Office PLC, Toronto. Insurance; 76 employees. Partners with the Yonge Street Mission to connect disadvantaged and at-risk youth with employment opportunities.

Edmonton, City of, Edmonton. Municipal government; 9,817 employees. Allows employees who possess most of the training and/or experience required for a position an opportunity to work in the position to develop all necessary requirements.

Egg Farmers of Canada, Ottawa. Business associations; 57 employees. Manages a national young farmer program to help the next generation of egg industry leaders increase their knowledge and hone the skills they need for leadership.

EPCOR Utilities Inc., Edmonton. Electric power distribution and water treatment; 3,056 employees. Maintains a job rotation and shadow program to provide opportunities for employees to work in areas of interest.

Fednav Ltd., Montreal. Deep-sea freight transportation; 184 employees. Created a training program offering participants experience in the organization’s core departments along with potential international assignments.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard, Ottawa. Federal government; 11,522 employees. Maintains a dedicated Young Professionals Network to provide employees with professional development, networking and learning opportunities.

FL Fuller Landau LLP, Montreal. Accounting; 102 employees. Works with local universities to hire summer and co-op students during tax season to work in the firm’s audit, tax and small business departments.

Ford Motor Co. of Canada Ltd., Oakville, Ont. Automobile manufacturing; 7,869 employees. Maintains personnel development committees which oversee employee development, internal selection and placement, and succession planning.

Giants & Gentlemen Advertising Inc., Toronto. Advertising agency; 24 employees. Manages a full-time paid “Genternship” program for recent graduates eager to learn about the industry and gain working experience.

Groupe Dynamite Inc., Mont-Royal, Que. Retail; 1,605 employees. Provides interns and recent graduates at Groupe Dynamite with an accelerated two-week onboarding experience.

Harvard Developments Inc., Regina. Commercial real estate management and development; 188 employees. Offers generous tuition subsidies for courses related to an employee’s position.

Hatch Ltd., Mississauga. Engineering; 2,901 employees. Manages a professional development program to help recent grads in their first to third year of employment to transition into the working world.

Health Canada / Santé Canada, Ottawa. Federal government; 7,497 employees. Manages the Health Canada Science Management Development program, a three-year initiative including work assignments and training for employees who want to become senior managers.

Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto. Hospital: 544 employees. Encourages ongoing employee development by offering five to seven paid education days for learning and development activities.

House of Commons Administration, Ottawa. Legislative bodies; 1,845 employees. Selects 40 students from CEGEPs and high schools across Canada to participate in a dedicated page program.

Hydro Ottawa, Ottawa. Electric power distribution; 680 employees. Collaborated with Algonquin College to develop and deliver the college’s two-year Powerline Technician Diploma program.

Intact Financial Corp., Toronto. Insurance; 11,750 employees. Offers a structured two-year Specialty Solutions and Surety Training program.

Jazz Aviation LP, Dartmouth, N.S. Air transportation; 4,660 employees. Offers scholarships to students enrolled in Aircraft Maintenance Engineer programs at local community colleges.

Joey Restaurant Group, Vancouver. Restaurants; 372 employees. Manages in-house apprenticeship programs for Red Seal certification and certified Chef de Cuisine.

Keurig Canada Inc., Montreal. Coffee distribution and brewing equipment; 1,401 employees. Launched a rotational program called “CAFFEINE” for recent graduates and former interns.

KPMG LLP, Toronto. Accounting; 7,081 employees. Launched the KPMG Ideation Challenge, a competition that invites students from 10 countries to test their abilities by cracking complex real business issues.

L’Oréal Canada Inc., Montreal. Cosmetics manufacturing; 1,462 employees. Manages Brandstorm, a marketing competition that allows groups of students to present a new product line and marketing campaign to L’Oréal judges.

Labatt Brewing Co. Ltd., Toronto. Breweries; 3,461 employees. Manages a comprehensive internship program for university students across all departments which includes participation in “beer school.”

Lafarge Canada Inc., Calgary. Concrete manufacturing; 6,844 employees. Offers the 18-month Lafarge Leadership Development program to help cultivate future talent for leadership positions.

LoyaltyOne Co., Toronto. Marketing consulting; 1,176 employees. Offers a speed networking event to provide working students with opportunities to connect one-on-one with senior LoyaltyOne leaders.

Manitoba, Government of, Winnipeg. Provincial government; 12,536 employees. Maintains a New Professionals Network which organizes a number of networking and social events throughout the year.

Manulife, Toronto. Insurance; 12,790 employees. Nurtures student talent through a Canada-wide internship program, which offers a broad range of opportunities in various departments.

McMillan LLP, Toronto. Law firm; 650 employees. Manages a student writing mentor program to help students and associates develop writing skills for research memos.

Metrolinx, Toronto. Public transit; 3,582 employees. Manages a Truck and Coach Technician Apprenticeship program in partnership with Centennial College.

Mott MacDonald, Vancouver. Engineering; 104 employees. Hosts a graduates weekend, an opportunity to meet and network with other graduates within the organization.

MTU Maintenance Canada Ltd., Richmond, B.C. Aircraft engine and parts manufacturing; 397 employees. Offers a number of internships, including a BA internship for young individuals and an 18-month junior trainee program.

National Bank of Canada, Montreal. Banking; 16,047 employees. Organizes “Let’s Talk Career Days” to help employees plan long-term development.

Northwest Territories, Government of, Yellowknife. Territorial government; 5,846 employees. Created a graduate internship program to recruit qualified postsecondary northern graduates into positions related to their field of study.

NTT Data Canada Inc., Halifax. Computer systems design; 807 employees. Offers an internal moves program, which provides guidance on how to advance to employees interested in changing career direction.

Nuance Communications Canada Inc., Montreal. Software publishers; 816 employees. Encourages employees to cultivate creativity through innovation challenges.

Nunavut, Government of, Iqaluit. Territorial government; 3,359 employees. Manages the Amaaqtaarniq Education program to help remove barriers to postsecondary education for eligible Inuit employees.

Ontario Public Service / OPS, Toronto. Provincial government; 65,136 employees. Offers a 12-month Ontario internship program for individuals who have recently graduated with a degree, diploma or postgraduate certificate.

Pembina Pipeline Corp., Calgary. Natural gas distribution; 1,554 employees. Manages specialized engineer-in-training programs with two streams – rotational or non-rotational programs.

PepsiCo Canada, Mississauga. Soft drink and food manufacturing; 10,699 employees. Manages “Connect,” a network for employees from all generations, job functions and levels of experience.

Pharmascience Inc., Montreal. Pharmaceutical manufacturing; 1,498 employees. Helps university students gain work experience through its Next Generation Leadership program.

Procter & Gamble Inc., Toronto. Consumer product manufacturing; 1,657 employees. Provides an onboarding program with training sessions led by experienced senior managers or executives.

R.F. Binnie & Associates Ltd., Burnaby, B.C. Engineering; 192 employees. Manages an engineer-in-training program to support the career advancement of its employees and facilitate professional accreditation.

Rio Tinto, Montreal. Mining and metals manufacturing; 10,333 employees. Offers a Graduate Excellence Path, a two-year development program for new graduates.

Rogers Communications Inc., Toronto. Telecommunications, cable, publishing and subscription programming; 21,631 employees. Launched the Ted Rogers Scholarship Fund, dedicated to helping young leaders across the country succeed in their educational aspirations.

Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto. Banking; 52,575 employees. Offers RBC’s Career Launch program, a one-year paid internship for recent university and college graduates under the age of 24.

Samsung Electronics Canada Inc., Mississauga. Communications equipment manufacturing; 572 employees. Organizes the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Challenge, a national initiative for students from Grades 6 to 10 to apply STEM learning to solve issues in their communities.

SAP Canada Inc., Vancouver. Custom computer programming; 3,307 employees. Launched a new internship experience project for students and recent graduates.

Saskatchewan Research Council / SRC, Saskatoon. Research and development; 310 employees. Offers mentoring for engineers and geoscientists in training.

SaskPower, Regina. Hydroelectric power generation; 3,342 employees. Hires engineering interns for periods of eight to 16 months within a variety of positions across business units and departments.

SaskTel, Regina. Telecommunications; 3,000 employees. Manages NextGEN, a network that provides career development and opportunities to connect for new and young employees.

Schneider Electric Canada Inc., Mississauga. Industrial automation and controls; 2,614 employees. Offers a 12-month field service representative apprenticeship program for electrical engineer technicians and technologists.

Siemens Canada Ltd., Oakville, Ont. Engineering; 3,998 employees. Manages a two-year finance leadership development program to recruit, train and develop high-potential graduates.

Sinai Health System, Toronto. Hospitals; 3,496 employees. Manages a summer MBA student internship program.

Sodexo Canada Ltd., Burlington, Ont. Food service contractors; 6,089 employees. Offers an international mobility program, allowing employees to work in one of the 80 countries where Sodexo operates.

StandardAero, Winnipeg. Aircraft engine maintenance; 2,078 employees. Manages an engineer-in-training program for recent graduates featuring rotations in various engineering disciplines.

Stanley Black and Decker Canada Corp., Mississauga. Tool and hardware manufacturing; 1,257 employees. Manages a leadership program to nurture the development of high potential early career associates.

Statistics Canada, Ottawa. Federal government; 5,275 employees. Manages a variety of recruitment and retention programs for new and recent graduates in various roles.

Sun Life Financial Inc., Toronto. Insurance; 9,662 employees. Maintains an actuarial development program that includes job rotations through a range of business units.

Surrey, City of, Surrey, B.C. Municipal government; 2,049 employees. Established the Surrey Leadership Youth Council to engage youth in social and community planning.

TD Bank Group, Toronto. Banking; 46,871 employees. Manages a generous Scholarship for Community Leadership program for students in their final year of high school or CEGEP.

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Ottawa. Federal government; 2,060 employees. Manages Renaissance, a dedicated network for new professionals of any age, classification or level.

UBC / University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Universities; 11,097 employees. Offers a variety of in-house training programs, including the award-winning Coaching@UBC program.

Ubisoft Canadian Studios, Toronto. Software publishers; 4,482 employees. Nurtures the development of high-potential employees through a dedicated graduate program.

Vancouver City Savings Credit Union, Vancouver. Credit unions; 2,147 employees. Offers a unique live-and-work co-op training option for employees interested in living in Bologna, Italy.

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd., Vancouver. Sawmills; 5,680 employees. Manages a new and young worker program to provide extensive training to employees under the age of 25.

Whistler Blackcomb, Whistler, B.C. Skiing and resort operations; 3,380 employees. Provides paid internships and co-op opportunities to students in varied areas, including sales and marketing, public relations and human resources.

Xerox Canada Ltd., North York, Ont. Computer technology and services; 2,511 employees. Operates an extensive co-op program to provide students with research and development experience.

YMCA of Greater Toronto, Toronto. Individual and family services; 1,833 employees. Manages a Newcomer Youth Leadership Development program which allows young staff advisors to help provide leadership and support to newcomer young people.

York Regional Police, Aurora, Ont. Police service; 2,260 employees. Hosts Youth Forums, day-long events for high-school students featuring guest speakers and workshops on current topics and issues facing young people.

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