New Professionals Program:
Attracting young talent

Recruiting the best and the brightest is a challenge for any organization. That challenge is even greater when it involves Alberta’s competitive oil and gas industry. Over the past 10 years, the ERCB’s New Professionals Program has played a unique and vital role in helping us attract outstanding graduates and achieve our goals.

The New Professionals Program provides graduates with a customized learning experience that helps them gain insight into not only the ERCB and their individual roles, but the oil and gas industry at large. The program includes work rotations in various departments and can range from 4 to 12 months.

The professionals start by meeting with both their section leaders and coworkers to better understand their positions and develop a relationship with their colleagues. This step provides them with a valuable support system they can draw upon from the moment they join the ERCB.

Working closely with their leaders, professionals develop customized learning plans specific to their goals. They also identify work rotations with other departments that can help them gain broader exposure to the ERCB and the oil and gas industry. Rotations may vary from one week to four months, depending on the individual’s learning goals. After each rotation, professionals meet with their leaders to discuss the insights they have gained. At the end of the program, participants give a presentation to their leader and interested employees, outlining the experiences they have gained and how the program has positioned them for their new roles.

Since its inception in 1999, forty individuals have participated in the New Professionals Program. In 2008, five new graduates participated, representing such diverse fields as law, science, engineering, and information technology.

The New Professionals Program has been widely praised by both graduates and ERCB team members. For new professionals, gaining firsthand insight into how the industry operates, how the ERCB operates, and how their roles fit into the operations gives them a valuable head start in their careers at the ERCB.

Building relationships with team members across the ERCB has enabled new professionals to establish a network of contacts they can access right from the start and build on as they move forward in their careers.

Participating ERCB team members have been equally impressed by the program. Working with new professionals one on one, they gain personal satisfaction helping graduates develop a solid foundation to further their careers.

Seeing the program’s positive impact inspires everyone to feel renewed excitement and enthusiasm about their own roles at the ERCB.

Helping new team members integrate smoothly into the organization is perhaps one of the greatest benefits of the program. As new professionals are able to gain insight into the ERCB’s operations right from the start, they have a better understanding of overall processes and how their individual roles fit into those processes. The result is a smoother, more seamless organization—with the right people in the right jobs at the right time.

ERCB named
a Top 40 workplace

Creative initiatives such as the New Professionals Program help to make the ERCB a truly unique workplace where our employees can make a difference to Albertans. It also illustrates why in 2008 we were distinguished in Alberta’s Top 40 Employers competition.

The annual competition, which is organized by the editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers, gives a nod to Alberta employers that lead their sectors in attracting and retaining employees by offering exceptional places to work. Criteria for the competition include work atmosphere, benefits and compensation, environmental leadership, employee diversity, community involvement, and training and development.

Being recognized as one of Alberta’s Top 40 Employers highlights the ERCB’s efforts in providing employees with diverse career opportunities, a positive work environment, and the chance to work in the public interest. We see this as a significant achievement for us and a confirmation that the ERCB is indeed an outstanding place to work.