Alberta Pensions Services invests in career growth

Jennifer-Rae Nielsen has always had a knack and an enthusiasm for working with computers. In her spare time she was a casual tinkerer and her friends’ informal IT support. And now, thanks to Alberta Pensions Services Corporation (APS), she gets to do what she loves every day.

Nielsen, a desktop support analyst, started with APS four years ago as a facilities administrator, working with vendors and ensuring the company’s buildings were maintained. But when she expressed an interest in a service desk role, her manager made it happen: Nielsen first started in a hybrid work arrangement, giving her time to learn some skills for her new position, and then was formally transferred over to her current role.

She’s about to start a full-stack web development diploma so she can grow into a web developer or database administrator role and is getting some help from her employer.

“There’s such a great program in place to provide any employee the opportunity to grow in any direction,” she says. “If you show a passion, they’ll invest in you.”

APS is the Edmonton-based pension administrator for nine Alberta public-sector pension plans. CEO Doug Woloshyn says the organization’s employees are deeply committed to serving its clients, and their pension plan members and employers. That mission is something that new employees often cite as a draw to work for the company.

“People put a lot of personal care and attention into providing a great level of service,” he says, noting that the company’s five-year strategic plan is highly focused on collaborating with their clients to elevate members and employers’ journey with enhanced online tools and self-service options.

Woloshyn says the company aims to help employees grow their careers within the organization. In addition to providing support for external courses and certifications related to their current role or another job they’re interested in, APS also has formal development plans and on-site training for job and interpersonal skill-related topics through the company’s education department.

“Folks who’ve been here a while are very regularly not in the positions they were originally hired for,” he says. People who start in the company’s member services department, for example, gain a lot of knowledge of the organization and pension matters that can open up roles in policy, internal audit or other departments, he says. “It’s important to us. It’s something we measure and think about when we’re recruiting and looking at filling vacancies.”

Fifty per cent of all job postings are now going to internal candidates, he says, and APS has a goal to boost that to 55 per cent.

Woloshyn himself has benefited from the company’s focus on professional development. He began working at APS in 2010 as a manager in its finance department and moved upward into vice-president roles and the chief financial officer seat. Along the way, APS supported him in getting his Institute of Corporate Directors designation and completing various leadership courses.

APS’s support for employees goes beyond their career growth. It has been investing in health, wellness and financial well-being resources and events for employees, including company-wide step challenges, laughing yoga, and bring your pet to work day. APS has plans to launch several employee resource groups, one of which will be for new parents.

The company transitioned to a continuing hybrid work environment post-pandemic to support work-life balance, noting that employees remained productive, and continued to achieve outstanding results.

“They really listened and supported what employees were saying,” says Nielsen. “They saw the results and strived to make it so that we can do our best work.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Alberta’s Top Employers winners, published January 28, 2025 in the Calgary Herald and Edmonton Journal. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.