Canada's Top Employers for Young People (2025) Magazine - Flipbook - Page 22
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CANADA’S TOP EMPLOYERS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE (2025)
The sky’s the limit for young hires at Air Canada
C
élian Genier, corporate photographer
at Air Canada, once
combined a lifelong
fascination with
aviation with nervousness about
flying. Not any more though, says
the 23-year-old, given his high
regard for his fellow employees at
the Montréal-based airline.
“Having seen behind the scenes,
I have complete and total trust in
our pilots, our mechanics and how
much redundancy is built into
the system,” he says. “Now, I sleep
during turbulence.”
Information and
availability of resources
is key for young people,
and our policies and
programs aim to show
that if you want to grow
in this organization, we
have the right tools to
help you do so.
— Pina Guercio
Vice President, Global Human
Resources
A good thing, too. There is much
Genier loves about his job, from
the work itself to the opportunities available to him and his
fellow young employees, but the
cherry on top is one of corporate
Canada’s best employee benefits
– travel privileges. “In 2024, I flew
five or six times back to France to
visit relatives,” says Genier, whose
family emigrated from outside
Paris to Montréal when he was six.
Pina Guercio, the airline’s vice
Célian Genier, corporate photographer, at Air Canada.
president of global human resources, also enjoys her travel privileges – she recently returned from
a visit to Dubai – while stressing
the airline’s other substantial
employee perks. An Air Canada
veteran, Guercio started in the call
centre in 1999, thinking it would
be a good summer job.
“Then the horizons opened up
because Air Canada will encourage any employee from the start to
grow within the organization. I’ve
had the chance to dip my feet into
areas from leisure sales to project
management and my love, which
is now HR,” says Guercio.
“The system is so well
supported,” Guercio continues.
“We have our internship
programs, a formal mentoring
program and a great tuition
reimbursement program where
employees can access up to $5,000
a year for tuition assistance. We
offer a flexible work policy and
five catch-up days a year which
employees can use as they need
them. That’s especially helpful
when you’re trying to further your
education.”
In 2023, Air Canada launched
an 18-month leadership program
that has already trained more
than 2,000 managers, says the vice
president. “It’s a comprehensive
program that really ensures we
lead with confidence, that we
recognize and empower our
employees, and that we listen.
In the educational partnerships
we establish and when we go
to career fairs, we’re able to say,
‘you can be a mechanic, a flight
attendant, a pilot, a lawyer, and
many other roles here,’” Guercio
says. “Air Canada is a place of
opportunity for everybody.”
The airline also has a corporate
wellness program, Unlock the Best
in You, with a robust telemedicine
component. “This is a resource
I use quite frequently,” says
Guercio. “Within two hours of
making a call, I’ve seen a doctor,
got a prescription and had it
delivered to my house. And it
