Canada's Top Employers for Young People (2025) Magazine - Flipbook - Page 68
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CANADA’S TOP EMPLOYERS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE (2025)
Unilever Canada puts its trust in young employees
A
fter meeting Unilever
Canada employees
during a career fair at
her university, Julia
Boccadoro had a
sense that her co-op placement as
a sales analyst with the company
would be an exciting professional
experience. But she didn’t expect
that she’d be able to present her
work to management, or have her
insights influence an important
customer meeting.
Boccadoro had conducted an
analysis of the market share of
Hellmann’s in Canada that found
the mayonnaise’s light variant
did exceptionally well in Québec.
When she shared the finding, her
manager used it to sell more of the
product to a major grocer.
Everyone here –
whether they’re upper
management, your
mentor or someone at
your level – is cheering
you on.
— Julia Boccadoro
Associate Brand Manager
“You have a lot of autonomy
up-front, even in entry-level roles
and internships – you’re leading
projects end-to-end and there’s so
much opportunity for learning,”
says Boccadoro, who’s now an
associate brand manager for Dove
and has been with Unilever for six
years. “Everyone here – whether
they’re upper management, your
mentor or someone at your level –
is cheering you on.”
Unilever Canada Inc., the
Toronto-based Canadian division
of the global consumer packaged
Unilever Canada recently launched a brand ambassador team, sending employees to university campuses to
recruit young talent.
goods company, puts a significant
effort into talent development and
support for early-career employees, says Harsh Pant, a senior
brand manager in Unilever’s foods
business. Pant also leads internship recruitment for that group.
As part of the company’s
flagship summer internship
program, young talent is treated
more like full-time employees
and trusted with important
responsibilities, with plenty of
support from managers, Pant says.
“I always tell the people we hire
that we put young people in big
roles.”
The company also runs the
Unilever Future Leaders Program
for new graduates. The program
typically lasts three years and
gives participants multiple placements throughout the company
within their area of interest, to give
them on-the-job training and help
them develop their capabilities as
leaders.
When he lived in India, Pant
himself went through the Future
Leaders program after his first
internship with Unilever. The
program took him through a
series of stints in Unilever’s trade,
marketing and factory divisions,
as well as a few months in a rural
village to learn more about a core
customer segment. At the end of
the program, he was given the
opportunity to lead Unilever’s
beauty and personal care business
in the New Delhi region.
“I was fresh out of school, but
it was based on talent and trust,”
Pant says. He adds that the Future
Leaders program imbued him
with confidence. “When people
tell you that you are a leader right
now, not that you’re going to be
one someday, and you realize
you’re on that track, it changes
your mindset. Every day you’re
working to get better.”
Employees also have plenty
of opportunity to build their
careers within the company,
Boccadoro says. The company
has a comprehensive on-boarding
