Recognized as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers (2025) and Montreal's Top Employers (2025):
By Richard Yerema and Kristina Leung, Mediacorp Canada Inc. staff editors (Nov 14, 2024)
Here are some of the reasons why CAE Inc. was selected as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers (2025) and Montreal's Top Employers (2025):
- CAE supports ongoing professional development through a number of programs, including in-house conferences, short-term gig opportunities to enable employees to work beyond their current team, and a leadership development program culminating in a capstone project
- CAE transitioned to a global flexible vacation program, allowing employees to request time off without fixed limits, and offers the option of unpaid sabbatical leave (up to 26 weeks to pursue personal interests or responsibilities)
- CAE supports new parents with maternity and parental leave top-up for mothers, to 100 per cent of salary for up to 26 weeks, and parental leave top-up for fathers and adoptive parents (100 per cent of salary for up to eight weeks)



Employer Background
Industry | Aviation and defence systems |
Established in Canada | 1947 |
Publicly traded | yes |
Major Canadian locations | Vancouver BC, Comox BC, Mississauga ON, Montréal QC, Ottawa ON, Moose Jaw SK |
Full-time employees in Canada | 4,902 |
Part-time employees in Canada | 299 |
Full-time employees worldwide | 13,454 |
Workforce engaged on a contract basis | 16.84% |
Average age of employees in Canada | 44.57 years |
Longest serving employee | 50 years |
Work Environment Rating: A
Flexible work options | hybrid work option, flexible work hours, compressed work week, reduced summer hours, (flexible work options vary by position) |
Commuter amenities | walk to public transit, transit subsidies, online carpool sign-up, free parking, electric vehicle charging stations, nearby bike sharing station, bicycle repair station, charging stations for electric bikes, over 300 lockers, a dedicated room for employees to leave wet laundry and a change of clothes as well as 7 private showers |
Onsite workplace features | workplace features the Le Radar park (with space and equipment to play soccer, basketball, bocce ball, ping pong, mini golf, Hacky Sack, Jenga, and spike ball), civil aviation training centre, an urban garden (employees are welcome to take the harvest home), two rooftop terraces, a variety of desk types (standing desks, walking desks with a treadmill, square desks and curved desks), telecommuter workstations, sit-stand workstations, private phone booth, nap room, religious observance room, self-serve lunchroom, outdoor patio, outdoor barbecue, and access to medical staff |
Employee lounge amenities | comfortable seating, television, video games, foosball table, table hockey, board games, table tennis |
Onsite cafeteria | healthy menus, special diet menus, take-home meals |
Other food options at main location | daily hot meals, sandwiches, pizza, a salad bar, a grab-and-go fridge with healthy options, for employees only, free membership, stationary bikes, elliptical trainers, weights, basketball court, shower facilities, complimentary fitness class offered weekly |
Work Atmosphere & Communications Rating: A
Employee social committee name | CAE Social and Recreation Club (est. 1954) |
Past social events | in-person and virtual 75th anniversary celebrations (including a global dance challenge), sports and social clubs (soccer, softball, golf, chess, gaming), Family Day event (Montreal campus opened its doors to employees from other locations and their families), golf tournament |
Cultural aspects | business-casual dress daily, casual dress Fridays, music while working, concierge services available, employee sports teams |
Employee communications | company newsletter, traditional/email suggestion box |
Other in-house communications | Infinite Ideas Contest (employees invited to submit ideas on four strategic challenges) |
Financial Benefits & Compensation Rating: A+
Financial benefits note | CAE has multiple employee groups, financial benefits may vary by position |
Outside salary surveys | participates in outside salary surveys every 12 months |
Employee salary reviews | individual salaries are reviewed every 12 months |
Long-term savings | defined-benefit (DB) pension |
Share purchase plan | available to all employees |
Referral bonuses (max) | new employee referral bonuses (up to $1,000) for some positions |
Additional financial benefits | year-end bonuses for some employees, discounted home insurance, discounted auto insurance |
Health & Family-Friendly Benefits Rating: B
Health plan note | CAE has multiple employee groups, health plans may vary by position |
Health plan premium | as part of the health plan, the employer pays up to 100% of the premiums |
Flexible coverage | health plan is flexible with adjustable premiums and coverage levels |
Minimum hours worked for coverage | 20 hours per week |
Waiting period | there is no waiting period for coverage |
Family coverage option | yes |
Retiree coverage with no age limit | yes |
Dental coverage | routine |
Paid sick days | employees receive 2 days off each year |
Health plan includes | traditional coverage (e.g. prescription drugs), employee assistance (EAP) plan, semi-private hospital room, physiotherapy, medical travel insurance, medical equipment and supplies, virtual healthcare services |
Mental health practitioner benefit | up to $750 each year |
Fitness club subsidy | up to $240 each year |
Additional health plan information | employees receive CAESelect dollars which can be allocated to a health spending account or a wellness spending account |
Additional health and wellness initiatives | global wellness survey, wellness committee, wellness breaks (topics include stress, priority management, empathy and compassion) |
Family-friendly benefits note | CAE has multiple employee groups, family-friendly policies may vary by position |
Maternity top-up (mothers) | up to 100% of salary for 18 weeks |
Parental top-up (mothers) | up to 100% of salary for 8 weeks |
Parental top-up (fathers) | up to 100% of salary for 8 weeks |
Adoption top-up | up to 100% of salary for 8 weeks |
Vacation & Personal Time-Off Rating: A+
Vacation note | CAE has multiple employee groups, vacation policies may vary by position |
Unlimited vacation allowance | offers a no-limit vacation policy |
Paid holiday shutdown | during the Christmas to New Year's holiday break, employees receive an additional 4 days off |
Company paid days off | employees receive 2 personal days off, as determined by their employer |
Unpaid leave maximum | 6 months |
Additional time-off information | sabbatical unpaid leave of absence up to 26 weeks |
Employee Engagement & Performance Rating: B
Employee performance reviews | employees receive individual performance reviews every 6 months |
Managers receive performance review training | yes |
360° feedback option | as part of the review process, performance feedback is also solicited from co-workers and other managers familiar with each employee's work |
Confidential employee feedback | employees can also provide confidential feedback on their manager's performance |
Exit interview | exit interview option is available for departing employees |
Performance recognition | online recognition platform, individual performance bonuses, on-the-spot rewards, peer-to-peer recognition awards, long-service awards, global CAEChampion online recognition platform to celebrate employees for demonstrating the company's values |
In-house survey period | in-house surveys are conducted every 1 month |
Outside survey period | outside consultant surveys are held every 1 month |
Training & Skills Development Rating: B+
Career planning | online employee skills inventory |
In-house training initiatives | mentoring, in-house training, online training, leadership development programs, paid internships, subsidies for professional accreditation, mentoring to transfer retirees' skills |
Related tuition subsidies | employer covers up to 100% of tuition per year |
Tuition subsidies (unrelated to job) | yes |
Unique training & development programs | e-learning management system with over 16,000 e-learnings and instructor-led training, in-house conferences on a variety of topics, 12-month career development program for women, language training |
Community Involvement Rating: A
Scope of charitable involvement | local, national, international |
Employee charitable involvement | employees are involved in selection of charities, employees receive paid time off to volunteer, (up to 1 paid day) |
Some of the community organizations supported | Canadian Red Cross, First Nations Technical Institute, Centraide, Indspire, Montreal Symphony Orchestra Foundation, YMCA, Hope Air, Unicef Canada, True Patriot Love Foundation |
Charitable giving | matches employee donations, matches employee volunteer hours with company donations |
Community highlight | For more than two decades, CAE has contributed to the annual Centraide campaign -- In the past year, the company raised $1.3-million through employee donations, fundraising activities, and a corporate donation |





Collaboration and culture keep CAE flying high
Eight years ago, Jihad El-Hage was an industrial engineering student intern with Montréal-based CAE Inc. Once he graduated from university, CAE offered him a full-time job, and now he is senior manager of the engineering development solutions department.
“I really liked the beginning of my career because I grew and learned a lot,” says El-Hage. He praises CAE’s internal mentoring program for helping him develop at the company. “Past mentors always took the time to guide me, and give me ideas and challenges,” he says. “Now I mentor people inside and outside my department.”
CAE is a made-in-Canada success story known for its commercial, business, and defence aircraft simulators and for training pilots worldwide. CAE has over 240 locations in more than 40 countries. El-Hage says the collaboration among various departments and employees is what successfully brings the solution to the customer.
“We have to work in collaboration while we’re developing whatever is required by the customer,” he says. “We work in parallel to build the simulator and we have that synergy with each other to make sure we’re all aligned.”
Adds El-Hage: “Collaboration is not only going to bring better ideas, it’s going to bring solutions.”
According to Hélène V. Gagnon, chief people and sustainability officer, a key aspect of CAE’s culture is linked to the company’s purpose and mission to equip people in critical roles needed to create a safer world.
“We need to create a safe world and that purpose, to elevate safety, is really something meaningful to all of us,” Gagnon says. This mission is something that motivates employees and brings them together towards a shared goal. “Our key value is that we all collaborate and work together as one CAE,” adds Gagnon.
CAE’s other values of innovation, excellence, integrity, and empowerment also encompass CAE’s culture. “Employees are the driving force of our success,” says Gagnon. “It’s about being creative and innovative in everything that we do.”
Employees can experience that culture every day through CAE’s unique, open workspaces that provide different ways of working and adapt to different needs. Just this year, CAE released a guide on neurodiversity for managers, an initiative that came from one of the seven employee resource groups at CAE.
“We support and foster these groups and they really make a difference,” says Gagnon. Among them are groups for professionals from different ethnic backgrounds, for women, veterans, employees with special needs and their families, the Indigenous population, and for the LGBTQ+ community.
Employees also immerse themselves in CAE’s culture by attending special events. For the total solar eclipse last April, more than 1,000 people gathered in CAE’s park with safety glasses provided. In September, over 6,500 people, including El-Hage and his family, attended CAE’s Family Day, where employees were given the opportunity to show their families the company’s technology and share what they do every day.
It’s moments such as these that matter to employees. “I don’t see myself going anywhere else,” says El-Hage.
This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Canada's Top 100 Employers winners, published November 15, 2024 in The Globe and Mail. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.
Recognized as one of Canada's Top Employers for Young People (2025):
By Kristina Leung, Chantel Watkins, and Cypress Weston, Mediacorp Canada Inc. staff editors (Jan 20, 2025)
Here are some of the reasons why CAE Inc. was selected as one of Canada's Top Employers for Young People (2025):
- CAE operates the "CAE Tech: Program your Career!" initiative for full-time students registered in technology programs from André-Laurendeau, Bois‑de‑Boulogne, Dawson, Édouard‑Montpetit (ÉNA), John Abbott and Montmorency CEGEPs/colleges -- the initiative encourages future technicians from various fields to start a career at CAE by offering traineeships that are integrated into the workplace
- CAE manages the Ken Patrick Leadership Program for new graduates, a two- to three-year rotational program designed to recruit and develop future leaders at CAE -- the program includes personal coaching and four rotational assignments in different business sectors
- Students enrolled in the "CAExplore" internship program are provided with a number of opportunities to build connections with peers and with senior leadership through networking events, in-person conferences and speaker series held throughout each internship term -- a recent cohort of engineering interns also participated in a simulator-building contest, collaborating with a team of peers and a mentor



Highlights
Industry | Aviation and defence systems |
Major Canadian locations | Vancouver BC, Comox BC, Mississauga ON, Montréal QC, Ottawa ON, Moose Jaw SK |
Full-time employees in Canada | 4,902 |
Student opportunities | summer jobs, co-op opportunities, paid internships |
In-house training programs | orientation program, in-house training, online training, online employee skills inventory, mentoring, leadership training |
Related tuition subsidies | employer covers up to 100% of tuition per year |
Unique training and development opportunities | "CAE Tech: Program your Career!" initiative integrates traineeships into the workplace (designed for future technicians, for full-time students in technology programs from select CEGEPs), Ken Patrick rotational leadership program for new graduates, lunch and learns, "CAEmentor me" program, leadership development program, access to LinkedIn Learning and ELAM (for language courses), LEAP program (leadership development program for leaders of the future), CAExplore internship program, DARE program (6-month development program aimed to equip and inspire women to take ownership of their careers, offered every 2 years to 30 women at all levels and bands) |
Additional highlights | Canadian Industrial Leadership Award for women in STEM programs from Concordia, Dalhousie and the University of Ottawa (award recipients receive a $6,000 bursary and the opportunity for full-time employment after completion of their program), L’effet A/Ambition Challenge (external professional development program for female employees), CAE Immersion program in partnership with the Concordia Institute of Aerospace Design and Innovation (prepares students for the job market through an intensive 3-week course) |
Unlimited vacation allowance | offers a no-limit vacation policy |
Recognized as one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers (2025):
By Kristina Leung, Chantel Watkins, and Cypress Weston, Mediacorp Canada Inc. staff editors (Feb 24, 2025)
Here are some of the reasons why CAE Inc. was selected as one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers (2025):
- CAE created the Women in Flight program to inspire young women to pursue careers as pilots -- in collaboration aviation partners, the program offers a variety of scholarships to cover training costs, and recipients serve as ambassadors to encourage others to pursue the pilot career path (only five per cent of the world's pilots are women, and 25,000 new pilots will be needed each year for the next 10 years)
- CAE recently introduced a guide on neurodiversity in the workplace to bolster the recruitment, onboarding, and engagement of neurodiverse employees -- the guide provides information, tips, and tools to support an inclusive environment
- Through the 'CAEheartbeat' initiative, employees at CAE are supported with various equity-based benefits, including global standardized parental leave, coverage for gender affirmation procedures, access to traditional Indigenous medicine and heath benefits, and more



Highlights
Industry | Aviation and defence systems |
Major Canadian locations | Vancouver BC, Comox BC, Mississauga ON, Montréal QC, Ottawa ON, Moose Jaw SK |
Full-time employees in Canada | 4,902 |
Management of diversity and inclusion initiatives | chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, executive diversity council (executive management and CEO) reviews progress quarterly, DE&I committee (includes stream leads from different business areas, business unit and regional streams), Indigenous advisory board |
Performance management and accountability | annual self-identification campaign with expanded dimensions of diversity (gender identity, LGBTQ2IA+, neurodiversity, race and ethnic status, generational diversity, veteran status), pulse surveys with opportunity for employee feedback with results reviewed regularly by executives, gender equality report, monthly DEIB survey, board and executive officer diversity, equity and inclusion policy (goal for 33% of executive officers and 40% of directors to include women, persons with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples, members of visible minorities and the LGBTQ2+ community by 2025) |
Employee resource groups | over 1,000 members in seven ERGs: Professional Women’s Network (PWN), LIFT (women in aviation and STEM), Mozaic (employees with special needs and their families), Prism (LGBTQ2IA+), EmbRACE, Insignia (veterans), FIRE (Indigenous) |
Noteworthy diversity strategies and policies | includes DE&I objectives as part of all employee's talent assessment tool, CAEheartbeat (set of equity-based policies, including global flexible vacation, global parental leave, paid maternity leave, coverage for gender affirmation procedures, travel coverage for medical services, access to Indigenous health benefits, and EAP and telemedicine services), Neurodiversity in the Workplace guide (provides information, tips, and tools to support an inclusive environment) |
Recruitment initiatives | recruiters and hiring managers complete inclusive hiring e-learning prior to the recruitment process, diverse interview panels, ensures gender neutral job descriptions, recruitment website has an AI tool that matches candidates' skills with jobs posted |
Retention and development programs | goal to ensure 30% of high-potential employees are women, appoints a bias interrupter during talent and leadership reviews to call out any biases and ensure it is taken out of the equation, 6-month DARE development program for women (explores themes of self-esteem, risk taking, negotiating, networking, work-life balance and influencing) |
Training and awareness initiatives | inclusive interactions guide for leaders, recruiters and HR business partners |
Diversity highlights | wellness committee (focuses on physical and mental health, overall well-being including financial health), CAE Women in Flight scholarship program with airline partners to increase representation of women in aviation, scholarships for women in STEM, business aviation and Black pilots |
The Career Directory
CAE Inc. has been selected for The Career Directory, our guide to entry-level recruitment for recent college and university graduates.



Highlights for New Grads
Industry | Aviation and defence systems |
Full-time employees in Canada | 2,501 to 5,000 |
Major Canadian locations | Vancouver BC, Comox BC, Mississauga ON, Montréal QC, Ottawa ON, Moose Jaw SK |
Student opportunities | paid internships, summer jobs, co-op opportunities |
Training | subsidies for professional accreditation, orientation program, online training, in-house training, mentoring, leadership training |
Tuition subsidies (related to job) | yes |
Typical new grad positions | System Software Specialist, Mechanical System Designer, Electrical System Designer, Flight Simulator Technologist, Hardware Technician, Test Engineer, Integration Specialist |
Starting salary | $60K to $70K |
Work benefits | health benefits for new employees, flexible work hours, transit subsidies, employees receive paid time off to volunteer |
Unlimited vacation allowance | offers a no-limit vacation policy |
Academic fields recruited
-
Bachelor of Commerce / Business Administration
- Accounting
- Finance
- Human Resources
- Information Systems
- Marketing
-
Bachelor of Engineering
- Aerospace
- Automation / Robotics
- Biomedical Electronics
- Computer Engineering
- Electrical
- Mechanical
- Microelectronics
- Production / Manufacturing
-
Bachelor of Science
- Computer Science
- Health Sciences
-
Community College Diploma
- Carpentry
- Computer Science
- Electronics Technician
- Engineering Technician
- Facility Management
- Information Technology
- Welding
-
Master of Business Administration
- Finance
- Human Resources
-
Master of Engineering
- Aerospace
- Automation / Robotics
- Biomedical Electronics
- Biotechnology
- Computer Engineering
- Electrical
- Mechanical
Recruits at these schools
- Algonquin College
- Bishop's University
- Carleton University
- Concordia University
- Dalhousie University
- École de technologie supérieure
- HEC Montréal
- McGill University
- Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
- Polytechnique Montréal
- Queen's University
- Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies
- Saskatchewan Polytechnic
- Southern Alberta Institute of Technology
- Toronto Metropolitan University
- Université de Moncton
- Université de Montréal
- Université de Sherbrooke
- Université du Québec à Montréal
- Université Laval
- University of Alberta
- University of British Columbia
- University of Ottawa
- University of Regina
- University of Saskatchewan
- University of Toronto
- University of Waterloo