Prince George, B.C.  Three major employers in northern B.C. have once again  made it  to the list of the  best employers in  the Province.

The list,  is the result of an editorial competition  conducted by MediaCorp  and assesses entrants  in 8 categories, a 1) Physical Workplace; (2) Work Atmosphere & Social; (3) Health, Financial & Family Benefits; (4) Vacation & Time-Off; (5) Employee Communications; (6) Performance Management; (7) Training & Skills Development; and (8) Community Involvement.

The  competition  for B.C. employers started in 2006  and for the  5th straight year,  Canfor Corporation  has  made it to the list.  Canfor is cited for:

• encouraging lifelong learning with formal mentoring opportunities, subsidies for professional accreditation, in-house and online training and tuition subsidies for courses taken at outside institutions
• helping employees plan for life after work with retirement planning assistance and a defined benefit pension plan for the majority of its workforce
• providing  free access to a shared -use onsite  fitness facility for  head office employees

Canfor is not the only  organization in the north  to  make it to the list more than once.  Northern Health  is  on the list for the third time,  while UNBC has now made it to the  list of B.C.’s best employers  for a fourth time.

Northern Health is noted for :

• ongoing employee development with tuition subsidies for courses both related and not directly related to their current position (to $750 annually), subsidies for professional accreditation as well as a variety of in-house training initiatives including mentoring and apprenticeship programs
• supporting its new moms with maternity and parental leave top-up payments and also extends parental leave top-up payments to new dads and adoptive parents
• helping employees plan for life after work through retirement planning assistance, phased-in work options for those nearing retirement, and contributions to a defined benefit pension plan

UNBC  was  recognized for:

• helping employees balance their personal and working lives with a variety of alternative working options, including compressed and shortened work weeks, a 35-hour work week and an earned days off program — the majority of new employees start with 3 weeks of paid vacation with some employees starting with 4 weeks
• making it easy for employees to continue their education — along with a full academic calendar, the university offers tuition subsidies for programs related and not directly related to their positions, as well as subsidies for professional accreditation and a variety of in-house training initiatives
• supporting its new moms with generous maternity and parental leave top-up payments (to 100% of salary for 52 weeks) as well as new fathers and adoptive parents (to 100% of salary for 35 weeks) — new parents can also take advantage of an onsite daycare centre when they are ready to return to work

The annual competition is open to  all  employers  in  British Columbia.  The winners  are featured in a special magazine published in the Vancouver Sun  today.  The full list of winners can be accessed here.