Alberta's Top Employers (2025) Magazine - Flipbook - Page 15
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ALBERTA’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2025)
Cont.
says Riccardo Silvestro, director of human
resources at Gibson Energy in Calgary,
also a Top Employer.
Like many successful energy companies,
Gibson’s continued success hinges on
being able to fill the “gap of retiring,
experienced workers.”
Finding the next generation of energy
workers can be challenging. Many young
adults did not see a future in oil and gas
amid the downturn. Instead, they sought
training in other sectors of the economy,
including technology, Silvestro says.
Now, a significant focus of the industry’s
recruitment is showcasing how it remains
among the best places to build a career.
Being named one of Alberta’s Top Employers
(2025) is one of their best tools for
recruitment, says managing editor Kristina
Leung of Canada’s Top 100 Employers,
which manages the Alberta program.
For the energy companies among the
Alberta workplaces on this year’s list, the
recognition reflects their overall success.
Leung notes that 27 per cent of Alberta’s
top workplaces had double-digit growth in
their full-time staffing numbers over the
past year.
“That’s pretty high,” Leung says, adding
that nationally, about 15 per cent of
businesses saw growth of 10 per cent or
more.
Of course, being able to attract workers
in Alberta’s hot job market is essential to
succeed.
One recent report noted that oil and gas
services employment reached a 10-year
high this past fall, according to BMO
Capital Markets.
Helping drive growth is the Trans
Mountain pipeline expansion, nearly
tripling the capacity of oil flowing from
Alberta to the West Coast. Trans Mountain
will help maintain sustainable growth for
the industry and, in turn, a growing need
for skilled workers. A 2024 federally
funded report from Careers in Energy
forecasts Canada’s energy industry could
require up to 116,000 new workers by 2035,
driven by growth and retirement.
Alberta post-secondaries such as the
Northern Alberta Institute of
Technology (NAIT) in Edmonton are at
the forefront of training those skilled
workers.
“NAIT is a leader in training the
future-ready workforce,” says Dr. Agatha
Ojimelukwe, dean of the School of Energy
and Natural Resources at the polytechnic
school.
Increasingly, NAIT is focused on
outreach, “identifying and dispelling
myths of working in the field” so young
Albertans see a future for themselves in
the industry, she says.
NAIT itself is not immune to industry
labour market challenges. A Top Employer for 14 straight years, it views making the
list as a great recruitment tool to ensure it
has top instructors with many years of
industry experience, Ojimelukwe notes.
Increasingly, being named to the list is
an evergreen pursuit, to help gain an edge
attracting the best workers, says Melissa
Moye, Enbridge’s chief human resources
and inclusion officer.
“We’re always looking to be a firstchoice employer.”
Enbridge’s success toward this goal, she
adds, is a result of its comprehensive
support for workers’ well-being across
four key areas: financial, physical, mental
and social.
Part and parcel to that is offering
innovative perks, such as 12 flex days
annually in addition to vacation.
Similarly, Top Employer Gibson Energy
offers novel benefits such as $15,000
annually per employee for mental health
care. It also provides up to $30,000
lifetime per worker for adoption, surrogacy and fertility services.
“Even workers who will never need this
q Instructors at Calgary-based SAIT demonstrate how to safely operate a crane.
SAIT
ATTRACTING WORKERS
benefit frequently tell me how proud they
are to work for a company offering this,”
Silvestro notes about the family-building
initiative.
That said, attracting top talent is about
more than benefits programs that resonate
with the new generation of workers. It’s
about showing they have a great future in
the industry, says Teine’s Denney.
“A lot of young people think it’s a sunset
industry,” he says. “That’s our challenge
today, to change that narrative, so young
people can see oil and gas remains a
fantastic industry to build a career.”
This story was created by Content Works,
Postmedia’s commercial content division, on
behalf of Alberta’s Top Employers.
