Jennifer Paterson
Desjardins, KPMG, RBC and Rogers Communications were among the 95 employers named as Canada’s Top Employers for Young People (2016).
The annual list, published in partnership with The Globe and Mail, recognizes employers that offer the nation’s best workplaces, programs and benefits for young people just starting their careers.
A selection of the initiatives that have propelled these employers to the top of the list include:
- Coca-Cola Canada maintains a family-friendly focus, offering maternity and parental leave top-up payments for employees who are new moms, dads or adoptive parents, a subsidy to help cover the costs of adoption when needed (to $4,000 per child), and a generous academic scholarship program for employees with college-bound kids (up to $5,000 per child).
- Dentons Canada manages a rotational summer law student program, provides second-year students with an opportunity to participate in a secondment at one of the firm’s clients’ offices or a government or quasi-governmental agency, and maintains a professional development committee to help ensures that training at each office is current, consistent and relevant.
- Desjardins‘ Young Intern Officer Program provides young people 18 to 30 the chance to sit on a caisse board of directors or board of supervision to represent members of their community and contribute to caisse performance. Its Young Executives Community brings together under 35 year-old managers from every line of business and offers networking and personal development activities.
- Enbridge is an avid supporter of ongoing learning and development and manages an in-house university, which includes training opportunities in areas such as business and financial acumen, project management, personal and interpersonal excellence, risk, leadership development and energy-related studies.
- KPMG manages the National Boardroom Skills Challenge, which provides interns with an opportunity to recommend a solution and strategy to a real-life business case on an issue the firm is currently facing.
- L’Oreal offers a marketing competition called “Brandstorm” wherein groups of students present case study analyses to L’Oréal judges who then reward regional winners with a trip to Paris to participate in the international competition at the company’s head office.
- RBC‘s Career Launch Program includes a work assignment at a local charity. It also offers employees access to an in-house wellness program called “Living Well” to encourage staff to adopt healthy lifestyles, as well as a variety of financial benefits, including a share purchase plan, a defined contribution pension plan, matching RSP contributions, referral bonuses and discounting banking services.
- Rogers Communications helps employees further their career and education through tuition assistance, expanded student and new grad programs, and a paid volunteer day for all employees.
- YMCA of Greater Toronto offers compassionate leave top-up for employees who are called upon to care for a loved one, to 80% of salary for up to eight weeks.
See the full list of Canada’s Top Employers for Young People here