Laurier has been named an outstanding employer for the second time this month, this time being recognized for being a top employer for young people in Canada, being only one of two post-secondary institutions to receive the honour and the only one in Ontario.
Only 100 winners in all of Canada are named, with the criteria for being selected based on efforts to attract and retain young employees, fair wages, benefits, mentorship, tuition assistance and paid personal days off.
“We have over 600 of our alumni who are working in staff and faculty positions here at Laurier, it certainly isn’t a requirement for the job but we certainly take a close look at our graduates and it’s a positive thing to give them an opportunity,” Pamela Cant, chief human resources and equity officer at Wilfrid Laurier University said.
“They’re already familiar with the Laurier community and what Laurier offers to our students so they can be really great ambassadors for the university, so we feel like our alumni add a lot of value to our workforce.”
Previously, Laurier was named one of the top 100 employers in the Waterloo Region but aimed to place even higher next time around and become one of the top 100 employers in Canada.
Not only students but alumni make up a percentage of the young people working at Laurier in positions that range from communications to officer roles.
“I’m a graduate of Laurier, I do think that when you go here as a student you make that connection with the school and so our alumni seek out employment opportunities with the university after graduation or they come back,” Cant said.
If you’re living on campus or close to campus and are able to work on campus as well it’s convenient, but it also allows them to keep a connection with the school; they may be working alongside some of their classmates or friends.
– Pamela Cant, chief human resources and equity officer at Laurier
Three of the main reasons Laurier was chosen as one of the top employers for young people was because of the tuition subsidies for continuing studies programs, the ASPIRE professional skills development training program which helps graduate students and postdoctoral in their post-graduate studies ,and early career researcher awards which are university wide for faculty early in their career making significant contributions to research.
“If you’re living on campus or close to campus and are able to work on campus as well it’s convenient, but it also allows them to keep a connection with the school; they may be working alongside some of their classmates or friends,” Cant said.
“I know that when we seek student employment we certainly give preference to our old students before we would look at students from other universities or post-secondaries so we definitely try as much as possible to provide those opportunities for our own students.”
Laurier has now been named not only a top employer for both those in the Waterloo Region as well as young people, but has also been named #1 in student satisfaction for the fourth year in a row, pointing out that student employment is at an above satisfactory level on campus.
“I am proud that we offer employment opportunities and benefits that are attractive to young people, I think it’s important to have young people into our workforce to make sure we have that succession planning,” Cant said.
“They’re bringing in fresh ideas and perspectives and to have that diversity within the work place in terms of our demographics is really important and I’m thrilled about it.”
