Canada's Top Employers for Young People (2026) Magazine - Magazine - Page 52
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CANADA’S TOP EMPLOYERS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE (2026)
PCL Construction is in the business of building careers
A
s a student at
the University of
Waterloo, Jordan
Coutts had a plan
to scout out the
job market. His mechanical
engineering program called for
no less than five four-month
co-op work placements. “I told
myself at the beginning that I
would do each co-op term at a
different company,” he recalls.
“I was actually planning not to
return to any company until after I
graduated.”
We work hard to
ensure that students
who do well in their
placements graduate
with a job offer in
hand.
— Harmony Carter
Vice-President,
People and Culture
But after completing his third
term with PCL Construction
near his hometown of Calgary,
Coutts knew he wanted to come
back to the company if he could.
He ended up serving his last two
co-op terms with PCL on a solar
energy project near Lethbridge,
Alta. and with the company’s
industrial estimating department
in Edmonton. After graduating in
2022, he was hired on permanently
as a project coordinator at PCL’s
industrial projects hub in Nisku,
Alta.
“I think I only had a week off
after school,” he chuckles, with
no hint of regret. “At this point
I’m kind of hoping that I’ll spend
the rest of my career with the
company.”
PCL Construction focuses on career growth and lifelong learning for all employees.
A big part of PCL’s appeal to
young recruits is the focus it
puts on each employee’s career
development. It has its own
in-house College of Construction
offering technical, job-related
training. It offers leadership
training at all levels and up to
$1,000 a year per employee for
work-related education off-site,
in addition to conference and
certification expenses. Employees
have regular check-ins with their
managers and receive guidance on
how to progress in their careers
based on their own interests and
the needs of the firm.
“PCL is very much a
growth- and learning-focused
organization,” says Harmony
Carter, vice-president, people and
culture. She notes that CEO Chris
Gower has publicly challenged his
company to be the best at growing
its people and their skill sets.
In the construction business,
getting a variety of experience
often requires movement across
dispersed job sites. That’s why
PCL has mobility assistance to
make it easier for employees
and their spouses to move to a
different community — including
a student mobility program.
The company fills 1,000 student
placements every year.
“We work hard to ensure that
students who do well in their
placements graduate with a job
offer in hand,” Carter adds.
PCL also has formal mentorship
programs that match junior
employees with managers
outside their department whom
they can confide in and solicit
