Canada's Top 100 Employers (2026) Magazine - Flipbook - Page 80
84
( 2026 )
SPONSOR CONTENT
At Thales Canada, ‘we are a learning company’
B
ahaa Khaddaj joined
Thales Canada for
multiple reasons — the
work is interesting and
diverse, the people are
supportive and there are many
opportunities. But what has made
the most impact is that he gets
to see things through. When he
worked in research, he would
answer one question and then
move on to the next.
“Here, people actually do
something with the work I supply.
It’s being used live!” says Khaddaj,
now enterprise architect at the
organization.
A global defence and technology company with Canadian
headquarters in the National
Capital Region, Thales provides
mission-critical systems, integration and digital platform support
services to the Canadian Armed
Forces, the Royal Canadian Navy
and the Canadian Coast Guard, as
well as cyber and digital technologies and biometric identification
capabilities for the Canada
Border Services Agency, the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police and the
Department of National Defence.
With its significant Canadian
footprint, Thales also provides
e-security solutions for sensitive
data applications and has established an AI accelerator for critical
systems in Québec.
Khaddaj joined Thales as a
digital solution designer on the
innovation team. For two and a
half years, he worked to support
various projects with new tools
and a bit of background architecture. Then he saw the posting
for enterprise architect. “The first
thing I did was talk to my resource
manager,” says Khaddaj. “He told
me to go for it.”
Once Khaddaj got the job, he
found he had a lot to consider.
Doing the configuration for
projects — and then managing
the life cycle — means learning to
design so that others can continue
to integrate new features.
Much of Khaddaj’s learning is
self-directed — online research,
documentation for new tools and
learning from others. Technical
leads on projects are available to
talk to and ask questions. “I don’t
think I’ve ever reached out to
anyone here who didn’t respond
positively,” says Khaddaj.
Part of what makes
Thales unique is the
mentoring, whether
peer-to-peer or a
global program with
mentees and mentors
located anywhere we
are around the world.
— Cara Salci
Vice President of Growth,
Industry and Corporate Affairs
Employees at Thales Canada in Ottawa take advantage of the hybrid work environment to collaborate on a
project.
“Part of what makes Thales
unique is the mentoring, whether
peer-to-peer or a global program
with mentee and mentor located
anywhere we are around the
world,” says Cara Salci, vice
president of growth, industry and
corporate affairs, Thales Canada.
“We are a learning company.”
A key initiative for Thales is
ensuring its workforce is prepared
for the future. The company is
working to advance the skills
of its workforce, and one way
it is doing this is through the
creation of an internal learning
academy for each function in the
company — from engineering to
human resources. Each will have a
defined roadmap for development
of their role or profession.
Salci finds that people at Thales
also learn through collaboration.
Teams around the globe are open
and welcoming, and employees
