 Back in 1990 when Lianna Mah joined Associated Engineering Group Ltd. (AE) as a young civil engineer, there were a couple of things that set her apart in the firm. One was her gender; the other her heritage. And for Mah those were two big pluses.
“It’s just so exciting for me as an Asian woman—and there’s not many women engineers to begin with and there’s not many Asian women engineers,” says Mah, AE’s manager of business development. “So for me personally it’s been really wonderful and rewarding to be part of this company and to see the growth and to see the diversity that’s developed.”
AE has been providing consulting engineering services in the water, transportation, infrastructure and environmental sectors for over 60 years. It’s received numerous awards for its work. But, more importantly, it’s received awards for its ability to attract and retain a talented and diverse workforce. This year alone the company’s been recognized as one of Canada’s Best Employers for New Canadians and one of Alberta’s Top 35 Employers.
Part of the reason, Mah says, is that AE is “great as far as generating ideas and innovation and creativity.” Take their “buddy system”, for example. Each new employee is assigned a co-worker who will take them to lunch, show them around or just answer any question, no matter how trivial.
They still have their supervisor, Mah explains, but “the buddy’s that easy person to talk to so you don’t have to ask your manager what might seem to be a silly question. We encourage them to ask their buddy anything, even if it seems silly. And there’s no such thing as a silly question, as they say.”
AE recruits both locally and aboard in an effort to get the best of the best. The firm has been on recruitment missions to Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and this month, 15 AE firms are going to the UK. Last year the co-op student at its Burnaby office was chosen from the India Institute of Technology.
Once they arrive in Canada, the efforts that brought AE its workplace honours as an exceptional employer, kick in. The company helps new employees obtain work permits and become permanent residents, helps them settle in and links them up with professional associations.
“For some engineers, depending on where they’re coming from, they might have to take a number of exams,” Mah explains, “and for others it may be just a matter of getting the experience they need.”
A pilot program with the Vancouver Community College provides AE’s new employees with language training, ESL or technical, whatever’s needed. It’s also working with Consulting Engineers of Alberta to help alleviate the labour shortage in that province.
All these partnerships, these ideas, and the fact that AE is an employee-owned company contribute to its employee base doubling in the last five years. Out of the 650 staff at its 14 offices between BC and Ontario, 25 percent are owners.
Mah knew when she joined the company 18 years ago that she didn’t want to operate her own firm, but she was interested in participating in the ownership of one. In the long run it’s been more than that has made her continue to work for Associated Engineering.
“Every year I find more and more reasons to stay,” she says. “And why it has become a company of choice for others, as well as for myself.” |
