Inspiration and empowerment: 'Canada's Top Employers for Young People' for 2019 are announced
TORONTO, Jan. 18, 2019 /CNW/ - Young people entering the job market are looking for work that inspires them and gives them a sense of pride and empowerment – and employers are responding. That's the message from this year's winners of the Canada's Top Employers for Young People competition, announced this morning.
"The trend is organizations trying to connect young people with a sense of purpose," says Kristina Leung, Senior Editor at Mediacorp Canada Inc., which organizes the annual competition. "They are showing prospective employees what the organization does – and how young people can fit into that long-term purpose. Or they are extending it to a broader purpose such as charity work that the organization supports."
This is an attractive time to be a young job-searcher, given Canada's low unemployment rate and booming economy – particularly in larger centres, like Toronto or Vancouver. Employers are competing to attract and retain young people: many of this year's winners report that 30 per cent or more of their staff are under the age of 34.
Employers are making sure their new recruits get an early opportunity to show off their skills and make an impact, says Leung. "We see training and mentoring that's more collaborative, crossing different departments and bringing groups of employees together to brainstorm on how they can impact the organization," she says.
That sense of contributing directly to the organization's future – and even suggesting changes that are taken up by the employer – has a powerful effect. "When an organization demonstrates that what its younger employees say matters, it creates better retention and long-term engagement," says Leung.
Now in its 17th 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, including The Globe and Mail. Mediacorp also operates Eluta.ca, one of Canada's largest job search engines, which reaches nearly eight million unique visitors annually and features editorial reviews from the Canada's Top 100 Employers project. Together with Willis Towers Watson, Mediacorp hosts Canada's largest annual conference for senior-level HR professionals, the Top Employer Summit, held in Vancouver and Toronto.
The full list of winners, together with the editors' detailed reasons for selection, were published today and are accessible via the competition homepage. More stories about this year's winners can be found in the announcement magazine published nationally in The Globe and Mail this morning.
SOURCE Mediacorp Canada Inc.
Tony Meehan, Publisher, Mediacorp Canada Inc., 416-964-6069 x1464
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