Canada's Top Employers for Young People (2025) Magazine - Flipbook - Page 3
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PEPSICO CANADA
CANADA’S TOP EMPLOYERS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE (2025)
CANADA’S TOP EMPLOYERS
FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
Anthony Meehan,
PUBLISHER
Editorial Team:
Richard Yerema,
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Kristina Leung,
MANAGING EDITOR
Chantel Watkins,
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Sonja Verpoort,
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Juliane Fung,
RESEARCH EDITOR
Cypress Weston,
RESEARCH ASSISTANT
Vithusa Vimalathasan,
RESEARCH ASSISTANT
Krista Robinson,
RESEARCH ASSISTANT
Advertising Team:
Kristen Chow,
MANAGING DIRECTOR, PUBLISHING
Ye Jin Suhe,
MANAGER, PUBLISHING
Chariemagne Kuizon,
PUBLISHING COORDINATOR
Vishnusha Kirupananthan,
SENIOR BRANDING & GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Sponsored Profile Writers:
Berton Woodward,
SENIOR EDITOR
Brian Bethune
Deborah Bourk
Abigail Cukier
Mary Dickie
Jane Doucet
Steven Frank
Don Hauka
D’Arcy Jenish
Diane Jermyn
Sara King-Abadi
Allison Lawlor
Tom Mason
Michael McCullough
Rick McGinnis
Kelsey Rolfe
Barbara Wickens
©2025 Mediacorp Canada Inc. All rights reserved. Canada’s Top Employers for
Young People is a product of Mediacorp. The Globe and Mail distributes the
online magazine but is not involved in the editorial content, judging or selection
of winners. CANADA’S TOP EMPLOYERS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE is a registered
trade mark of Mediacorp. Editorial inquiries: ct100@mediacorp.ca
Mississauga-based PepsiCo Canada organizes unique events for students and new grads such as plant
tours, social events, and ‘Surf Week’ hosted by supply chain interns, giving participants access to at least
four other company sites during the week.
F
or young Canadians entering the workforce,
finding the right employer can feel like a
Herculean task. Amid a steady drumbeat of weak
economic news and the nation’s high youth
unemployment rate, young people might be
forgiven for doubting that it’s even possible to find an
employer that will help them build a long-term career and
make it easier for them to succeed and thrive.
Some employers, however, go out of their way to
support younger employees, tailoring HR programs to
support their journey at all stages of career development.
The best of these organizations are recognized each year
as Canada’s Top Employers for Young People, now in its 23rd
annual editorial competition.
For many of this year’s winners, it’s about helping recent
graduates discover their talents and interests through
rotational programs in various parts of the organization.
These programs help curious new graduates see areas of
the business they haven’t previously considered – and give
managers in these areas an opportunity to see if the young
person might be a good fit. With increasingly specialized
university and college programs, on-the-job rotations
across several parts of an organization offer new grads a
second opportunity to consider alternative career paths
beyond the ones they have considered.
This year’s winners also recognize the ways in which
younger employees have been shortchanged by the
pandemic. Unlike previous generations, many young
people entering today’s workforce missed out on developing their soft skills, like interpersonal communications or
working in a group setting. To compensate, this year’s
winners prioritize training in these fields, building young
peoples’ skills and confidence in areas such as public
speaking, working in teams, and other social aspects that
are vital to career success – regardless of which role in an
organization they eventually fill.
Early in this competition’s history, our editors noticed
that many of the nation’s best employers went out of their
way to create programs to develop their youngest employees. We identified benefits that were idea for new
graduates, such as tuition assistance, co-op opportunities,
and work-study programs. Our editors also paid close
attention to employers’ mentorship and training programs, including benefits such as bonuses paid on
completing trades or professional designations. And
finally, we reviewed each employer’s career management
program, looking for initiatives that help younger workers
advance faster in the organization.
The resulting list of Canada’s Top Employers for Young
People (2025) provides a catalogue of best practices for any
employer that wants to improve their workplace and HR
programs for young people. For young people, the list
provides a starting point toward understanding what the
nation’s best employers are offering to help build a stable
and durable career.
For all readers, I encourage you to read our editors’
detailed reasons for selection, explaining why each of this
year’s winners was selected. These were released this
moirning and can be found via the competition homepage
at www.canadastop100.com/yp
Finally, if your organization would like to be considered
for next year’s competition, I encourage you to get in touch
with our editorial team at ct100@mediacorp.ca as early as
possible. Applications for our 2026 edition will be released
next month and are due in early May.
– Tony Meehan
