Canada's Top Employers for Young People (2026) Magazine - Magazine - Page 60
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CANADA’S TOP EMPLOYERS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE (2026)
At Thales, early career employees make an impact
B
raden Hayes joined
Thales Canada straight
out of university. That
was three and a half
years ago and he’s been
up for the challenge ever since.
“I don’t think I could have asked
for more experiences, workwise
and people-wise,” says Hayes,
now senior software development
engineer. “I find once I’ve achieved
my goals on a project, I’m free to
explore and work with others on
something else.”
Environment, social
responsibility and
governance-themed
team projects in
Thales’ new graduate
program resonate with
this generation and
can have an impact.
— Alice Kadlec
Director, Talent and Culture,
North America
A global tech leader in defence,
aerospace, cyber and digital with
Canadian headquarters in Kanata,
Ont. (just west of Ottawa), Thales
offers leading capabilities in the
defence, civil aviation, digital
identity and security sectors —
meeting the most complex needs
and requirements of its customers
across all operating environments.
“There is a lot of different
work you can do in such a large
organization,” says Alice Kadlec,
director, talent and culture, North
America. “You are exposed to
people, cultures and technology
from across the globe.”
Kadlec feels the Thales new
graduate program fosters enablement and a sense of belonging
Participants in the graduate program at Thales Canada pitch their project to members of the organization’s
executive team.
right off the bat. The two-year
program includes an in-person
kick off that exposes employees
to who and what Thales is. They
learn about the organization
through interaction with executive
speakers and group activities.
Next, these early career
employees form teams and set
out to find and solve a challenge
under the Protect pillar of Thales’
strategic plan. “Environment,
social responsibility and governance-themed team projects in
Thales’ new graduate program
resonate with this generation and
can have an impact,” says Kadlec.
She believes they show managers
how much the new generation can
contribute.
The new graduate program
also overlaps with the senior
leadership program at Thales.
Participants from both programs
advise and receive feedback from
each other. “It gives a voice to
people early in their careers,” says
Kadlec. “There is no barrier to
open conversation.”
Hayes was hired at Thales as a
software development engineer,
and he joined the first cohort
of the new graduate program.
Over the next year, he worked
on a group mentoring platform
designed so that every participant
acts as both a mentor and a
mentee. His team presented
their project to various executive
groups, refining their pitch before
ultimately presenting it to more
than 100 people in Austin, Texas.
In the following two years,
Hayes returned as a coach for two
different teams, both of which
were selected to present to the
next cohort.
Hayes feels that Thales offers
many opportunities and he’s
been able to take advantage of
a few of them. After solving a
task in a unique way, he worked
with Thales to submit a patent,
in which he is named as the
