Greater Toronto's Top Employers (2026) Magazine - Magazine - Page 26
26
( 2026)
SPONSOR CONTENT
A culture of support and growth powers Alectra
W
hen Amanda
Koyata joined
Alectra Inc. in
2022, she had
no idea she was
embarking on a stunning career
trajectory. “I started as a human
resources co-op student and it was
supposed to be just four months,
but I never left,” she recalls.
“Things just skyrocketed.”
Her co-op placement at the
municipally-owned electric
distribution company, which
serves more than a million homes
and businesses throughout the
Golden Horseshoe, led to a few
increasingly challenging roles,
culminating in her current job as
specialist in talent attraction and
services, an entirely new position.
“It’s been fun,” she says. “A lot of
fun.”
We are committed
to recognizing our
employees as our
greatest asset, and
that means a culture of
continuous learning.
— Shelley Parker
Vice-President,
Network Metering
Alectra, she notes, has myriad
initiatives for employees who
want to grow. “There’s something
for everyone. It’s honestly ‘choose
your own adventure’. We have
mentoring and coaching. We have
access to thousands of online
courses. We have continuing
education assistance. We
Shelley Parker, vice-president of network metering, at Alectra.
have a very robust leadership
development program. It’s all a big
part of what makes working here
so attractive and makes people
want to stay.”
“The whole idea,” says Shelley
Parker, vice-president of network
metering, “is that employees who
are willing can expand their skill
set and move up through the
organization. We are building
a very intentional culture that
comes under what we call our
‘people deal.’ We are committed
to recognizing our employees as
our greatest asset, and that means
a culture of continuous learning
and an emphasis on diversity,
equity and inclusion.”
That culture is also one of
collegiality and support. “When I
think of Alectra,” says Koyata, “I
think of how much everyone cares
for each other’s well-being, their
mental health, their safety, and of
working in an environment where
your team is constantly checking
in on you, making sure that you’re
okay and feel respected and
included.”
For Parker, another plus of
working at Alectra is the sense
of purpose that comes with its
role of providing an essential
service, especially amid growing
demand for electricity and the
spectre of climate change. “What
used to be once-in-100-year
storms are now once-in-10-year
ones,” she observes, “and we have
expert teams that manage our
infrastructure to ensure that we’re
providing safe and reliable power.”
Parker, who was once the only
female powerline worker in
British Columbia, adds that the
organization is laser-focused on
the safety of workers who deal
with weather-related emergencies.
“There can be trees and power
lines damaged by high winds or
ice storms and difficulty getting
to an area. I think that when our
customers see the crews out there
in those conditions, they’re so
grateful for what we do.”
At the same time, she adds,
Alectra really gives back to
the communities it serves. For
one thing, its AlectraCARES
community support program
invested $1.39 million in 2024 to
benefit more than 150 initiatives
