By Market Business Insider |
By Market Business Insider |
Finding the ‘right fit’ when reviewing young job applicants is a challenge, but for many students and recent graduates finding the ‘right organization’ is even tougher. Young people are discerning about where they start their careers – and want to be sure that their beliefs and values line up with a prospective employer’s. How, then, should organizations go about attracting the best and the brightest? By connecting work to a higher purpose, say winners of this year’s Canada’s Top Employers for Young People, announced this morning in a special magazine in The Globe and Mail.
“In the competition for talent, a key variable for millennials and Gen-Z is the ability to connect their work with greater meaning – that’s where winners of this year’s competition excel,” says Kristina Leung, Senior Editor of the Canada’s Top 100 Employers project, which manages the competition. “Whether on a personal or professional level, the employers chosen for this year’s list provide opportunities for career growth and advancement – as well as opportunities to support broader social causes through community projects and volunteerism.”
“It’s an ideal combination,” adds Richard Yerema, Managing Editor of the Canada’s Top 100 Employers project and Author of The Career Directory, Canada’s longest-running career guide for students. “It demonstrates an organization’s commitment to the growth of their employees as individuals – ultimately, that helps keep young people stay engaged and connected to the work they do.”
Some notable initiatives that the editors recognized this year:
SAP Canada offers high-potential employees opportunities to participate in a ‘social sabbatical’ program, a unique, short-term assignment where the employee works with a team of international colleagues to solve business problems for entrepreneurs and SME sector organizations.
Toronto-based Citi Canada offers several public service opportunities for employees working as analysts – including ServiceCorps, a 1-year fellowship program that matches incoming tech analysts with non-profit and public-sector organizations.
Vancity/Vancouver City Savings Credit Union encourages ongoing employee development with generous tuition subsidies as well as a unique ‘live and work’ co-op training option for employees interested in living in Bologna, Italy, where various co-op training programs account for one-third of the city’s economic activity.
SaskPower manages an employee resource group (“Youth Network”) for staff under the age of 29 that meets regularly and hosts extracurricular activities.
Now in its 16th consecutive year, Canada’s Top Employers for Young People is an editorial competition that recognizes employers offering the nation’s best workplaces and programs for young people starting their careers. Winners of the competition are chosen by the editorial team at the Canada’s Top Employers project on the basis of the programs and initiatives they offer to attract and retain younger workers. These include a wide range of benefits, such as tuition assistance and the availability of co-op or work-study programs. The editors also examine each employer’s mentorship and training programs, including benefits such as bonuses paid when employees complete courses or obtain professional designations. The editors also review each employer’s career management program, looking for initiatives that help younger workers to advance faster in the organization.
Founded in 1992, Mediacorp Canada Inc. is the nation’s largest publisher of employment periodicals. Since 1999, the Toronto-based publisher has managed the Canada’s Top 100 Employers project, which includes 18 regional and special-interest editorial competitions that reach over 15 million Canadians annually through a variety of magazine and newspaper partners. Mediacorp also operates Eluta.ca, the largest Canadian job search engine, which includes editorial reviews from the Canada’s Top 100 Employers project and is now used by almost 7 million users in Canada each year. Together with Willis Towers Watson, Mediacorp also hosts the Top Employer Summit, Canada’s largest conference for senior-level HR professionals.
The 2018 winners were announced this morning in a special magazine published nationally in The Globe and Mail. The full list is included below. The editors’ detailed reasons for selection, explaining why each employer was selected, were also released today and are accessible via the competition homepage.