Canada's Top Employers for Young People (2025) Magazine - Flipbook - Page 24
24
SPONSOR CONTENT
CANADA’S TOP EMPLOYERS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE (2025)
ATCO welcomes hires with support and opportunity
W
hile Dustin
HouseBearspaw
was pursuing
a business
management degree at the
University of Lethbridge, he
began considering the pros and
cons of working at several select
companies. Ultimately, his time in
the Indigenous Summer Student
program at Calgary-based ATCO
Ltd. made his decision clear.
The member of the Stoney
Nakoda Nation says the managers
at ATCO made him feel welcome
as an intern and helped him
adapt to working in an office
environment, especially one key
supervisor, Cole Crook.
They’ve provided the
right direction as a
leadership group so we
can allow more young
Indigenous people to
enter the company and
build a career here.
— Dustin House-Bearspaw
Advisor, Indigenous
Business Initiatives
“He really made me feel
comfortable and supported me
throughout my whole term,” says
House-Bearspaw, who joined
ATCO as a permanent employee
in February 2022. Another
attraction was that ATCO – a
diversified energy, logistics and
engineering company with
operations in Canada, the United
States, Australia, Mexico and
beyond – offers a diverse range of
Dustin House-Bearspaw, advisor, Indigenous business initiatives, at ATCO.
opportunities for young people to
build out their careers.
Now an advisor of Indigenous
business initiatives in Calgary,
House-Bearspaw says his
experience is indicative of how
ATCO leaders treat new hires:
they really listen to employees,
treat them equitably and talk with
them openly.
“It’s eye to eye, rather than
hierarchical,” he says of his
interactions with executives.
“And leaders have advocated for
me and provided the support for
me to ensure that I have a good
experience and I’m doing well as
an employee.”
One part of House-Bearspaw’s
job is ensuring that other young
hires, especially Indigenous
employees, feel as welcome as he
did coming into a big company
like ATCO. “It’s creating safe
spaces for incoming Indigenous
people, whether they’re summer
students or new graduates looking
for an opportunity within a
company like this, ensuring they
have the right resources to want to
stay with us,” he says.
The other big focus of his job
is helping ATCO build positive
relationships with Indigenous
communities everywhere the
company has a presence.
Deanna Girard, vice president
of human resources, says ATCO
puts a lot of time and effort
into attracting young talent. It
welcomes summer students with
a special onboarding session
that includes executive guest
speakers and offers a wide variety
of professional development
initiatives. ATCO also supports
students working towards their
CPA designation through a
chartered professional accountant
program.
Once hired, ATCO employees
are offered flexibility, where
possible, through hybrid work
arrangements and other benefits
new workers need to meet their
physical, psychological and
financial needs.
“To attract young people, we
make sure that we have a diverse,
inclusive, psychologically safe
work environment,” Girard says.
“ATCO puts a real emphasis on
the next generations, who are very
focused on the social aspects of
the world and how companies
are conducting business from
an environmental perspective to
improving our communities.”
Girard says one of the many
draws for young people is ATCO’s
Employees Participating in
Communities (EPIC) program,
