Job perks put engineering companies on list of top employers

Four consulting engineering firms were named in Maclean’s magazine’s Top 100 Employers. The list was published in the October 15, 2007 issue.
Golder Associates of Burnaby, B.C., Jacques Whitford of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Urban Systems of Kamloops, B.C. and Wardrop Engineering of Winnipeg, were all cited in the list under the professional services and communications section of the awards.
Golder and Jacques Whitford were commended for their parental leave programs. In the case of Jacques Whitford, parental leave top-ups are up to 75% of a person’s salary for 35 weeks for fathers and 52 weeks for mothers. Golder was also recommended for its global employee exchange program that operates in 140 countries.
Urban Systems was commended for its program of hiring disadvantaged young people for one-year work terms. The company also gives these young people support for pursuing a trade or more schooling.
Wardrop Engineering was listed as providing employees with subsidized home and car insurance, and also providing low-interest home loans. Wardrop also gives cash bonuses of up to 50% for good performance.