BC's Top Employers (2026) Magazine - Magazine - Page 26
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BC’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2026)
An expanding BC Energy Regulator nurtures talent
R
aven Nyamekye had
never heard of Fort
St. John before her
husband landed a
job with the health
authority there in the winter
of 2023. Born and raised in
Toronto, she found herself in a
remote northern town where
the opportunities in not-forprofits, the industry where she’d
previously worked, were few.
Then she saw a job posting for
an executive assistant role at the
BC Energy Regulator (BCER),
applied and was hired.
“I came in in a support role but
from day one, I had a front-row
seat to my executive and how
they made decisions,” Nyamekye
says. “The leaders treated me as a
partner.”
It’s a place that you can
really grow. There are
opportunities to evolve
and better yourself.
— Raven Nyamekye
Legal Services Analyst
A year and a half later, a
position opened up for a legal
services analyst. “I hadn’t even
thought of applying for the role.
The chief legal counsel reached
out to me because they’d seen
how I’d worked so well with her
colleague,” Nyamekye says. “She
encouraged me to go for it, so I
applied and ended up being the
successful candidate.”
Now she’s working with the
BCER’s lawyers to learn about
Patrick Smook, vice-president, compliance and operations at BC Energy Regulator.
their systems and expects to start
paralegal training this year. “It’s
a place that you can really grow,”
Nyamekye says of the organization,
which has principal offices in Fort
St. John and Victoria as well as five
other locations.
“There are opportunities to
evolve and better yourself,” she
says. “You don’t have to get stuck or
bored with what you’re doing.”
It helps that the mandate of
the BC Energy Regulator has
been expanded by the province
— slowly at first, and rapidly last
year — it now includes oversight
of renewable energy and specific
electrical transmission lines, to
help ensure a streamlined, onewindow regulatory model.
“It’s an exciting time. It creates
opportunities for people to use
skills that they’ve honed over the
years in new ways and in different
realms,” says Patrick Smook,
vice-president, compliance and
operations. And the agency takes
pains to nurture talent from
within.
“We have a formalized program
for developing individuals,”
Smook says. Every employee has
a career plan that identifies goals
and recommends training and
mentorship, backed by a healthy
training budget.
The BCER has also taken
strides to help employees lead
full lives outside of work. “This is
an excellent place to work when
you’re raising kids,” says Smook,
who has two of his own. “It’s the
best work-life balance you’re going
to find.”
The organization tops up pay
during parental leave for both
parents. There’s a formal hybrid
work policy and a health and
wellness program that provides up
to $500 annually for supplemental
health-related expenses or
setting up your home office. Most
employees enjoy flexible schedules
that allow them to work extra time
