Top Employer: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

Recognized as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers (2023) and National Capital Region's Top Employers (2023):

Mediacorp Canada Inc. staff editors (Nov 17, 2022)

Here are some of the reasons why Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada was selected as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers (2023) and National Capital Region's Top Employers (2023):

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada encourages lifelong learning with tuition subsidies for courses taken at outside institutions and micro assignments, allowing employees to develop skills and experience outside of their department -- additionally, the organization helps cultivate the next generation of talent through paid internships, summer student roles and co-op opportunities
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada created an ombudsman for mental health and employee well-being to provide impartial, voluntary, independent and confidential professional services, and offers up to $2,000 for psychological services to eligible employees as part of its benefits plan
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada provides long-term peace of mind with contributions to a defined benefit pension plan and retirement planning assistance

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada staff members engaged in a 'design jam' in 2019, an interactive event to obtain feedback from employees

Employer Background

Industry	Federal government, industry and economic development programs
Established in Canada	1892
Publicly traded	yes
Parent company	Government of Canada
Parent company head office	Ottawa ON
Major Canadian hiring locations	Dartmouth NS, Edmonton AB, Québec QC, Montréal QC, Toronto ON, Sudbury ON, London ON, Hamilton ON, Ottawa ON, Gatineau QC
Full-time employees in Canada	6,160
Part-time employees in Canada	365
Average age of employees in Canada	42.3 years
Longest serving employee	27.04 years

Work Environment Rating: B+

Flexible work options	flexible work hours, 35-hour work week (with full pay), shortened work week (fewer hours with less pay), compressed work week, telecommuting
Commuter amenities	walk to public transit, free parking, secure/sheltered bicycle parking
Onsite workplace features	head office is located in the C.D. Howe Building, an 11-storey office tower featuring an interior collaboration space with greenery and a large waterfall, 30% of the building's rooftop is landscaped and grows indigenous flowers, grasses and shrubs (another 30% utilizes green roof technology), a dedicated "digital office" helps deliver on the organization's workplace modernization commitments, telecommuter workstations, sit-stand workstations, religious observance room, outdoor patio, the head office also features the Canadian Innovation Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace (a forum for federal public service employees to share best practices, tools and resources)
Employee lounge amenities	comfortable seating, television, video games, foosball table
Other food options at main location	food court with a variety of options including Subway, Manhattan's Handmade Burgers, Jimmy the Greek, and Marcello's Market and Deli, to name a few

Work Atmosphere & Communications Rating: B

Cultural aspects	business-casual dress daily, dress-for-your-day policy, casual dress (e.g. jeans) daily, casual dress Fridays, music while working, employee sports teams, organized social activities for retirees
Employee communications	intranet site, company newsletter, traditional/email suggestion box, internal social media
Other in-house communications	virtual all-staff town halls, internal video series called "This Deputy has 2.2 Minutes," virtual event series with deputy ministers (employees can interact directly with ministers), Random Coffee initiative (employees can expand their networks across the department with virtual coffee or tea)

Financial Benefits & Compensation Rating: A

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
Long-term planning	retirement planning assistance, phased-in retirement work options

Health & Family-Friendly Benefits Rating: A+

Health plan note	Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada has multiple employee groups, health plans may vary by position
Family coverage option	yes
Dental coverage	routine, restorative, orthodontics
Eyecare	$275 every 2 years
Paid sick days	employees receive 15 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, massage therapy, podiatrist, chiropractor, alternative coverage (e.g. acupuncture, naturopathy)
Mental health practitioner benefit	up to $2,000 each year
Additional health and wellness initiatives	mental health strategy, extensive resources including a mental health wiki, in-house training, mental health network of over 100 champions and ambassadors, an ombudsman for mental health and employee well-being to provide impartial, voluntary, independent and confidential professional services
Maternity top-up (mothers)	up to 93% of salary for 18 weeks
Parental top-up (mothers)	up to 93% of salary for 34 weeks
Parental top-up (fathers)	up to 93% of salary for 37 weeks
Adoption top-up	up to 93% of salary for 37 weeks
Additional family-friendly benefits	extended parental leave to unpaid leave
Additional family-friendly information	compassionate leave top-up payments may also be available for employees caring for a family member

Vacation & Personal Time-Off Rating: B

Vacation allowance	new employees receive 3 weeks of paid vacation after their first year on the job
Vacation jump	vacation increases after 8 years of employment
Maximum vacation allowance	employees move to a maximum of 6 weeks of vacation over their career
Previous experience	considers previous work experience when setting annual vacation for new employees
Personal paid days off	employees can schedule 2 personal days off each year, as needed
Unpaid leave maximum	60 months
Self-funded/deferred salary leave maximum	12 months

Employee Engagement & Performance Rating: B

Employee performance reviews	employees receive individual performance reviews every 6 months
Managers receive performance review training	yes
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, tailored and unique rewards (e.g. travel), Deputy Ministers' Award of Merit (categories include policy, innovation, mental health and workplace well-being, and leadership in official languages, to name a few), merit awards to recognize employee contributions at various levels of the organization (sector level, branch level), Public Service Award of Excellence (presented across the public service at Rideau Hall)
In-house survey period	in-house surveys are conducted every 12 months
Outside survey period	outside consultant surveys are held every 12 months

Training & Skills Development Rating: A

Career planning	in-house career planning services, online employee skills inventory
In-house training initiatives	apprenticeship/skilled trades programs, mentoring, in-house training, online training, subsidies for professional accreditation, mentoring to transfer retirees' skills
Related tuition subsidies	employer covers up to 100% of tuition per year
Unrelated tuition subsidies	employer covers up to 100% of tuition per year for courses unrelated to current position
Education leave	educational leaves of absence are available
Unique training & development programs	extensive leadership development opportunities, micro assignments to allow employees to develop skills and experience outside of their department

Community Involvement Rating: A

Scope of charitable involvement	national
Employee charitable involvement	employees are involved in selection of charities, employees receive paid time off to volunteer, (up to 1 paid day)
Total number of charities supported last year	approximately 533 charitable and community organizations were supported last year
Community highlight	Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada participates in the Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign.

Recognized as one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers (2023):

By Kristina Leung and Stephanie Leung, Mediacorp Canada Inc. staff editors (Mar 6, 2023)

Here are some of the reasons why Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada was selected as one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers (2023):

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada contributed to a government-wide accessibility strategy and undertook the following actions: naming a Champion of Accessibility, creating a network of employees with disabilities, conducting a preliminary gap analysis to identify, remove and prevent barriers to accessibility, creating and deploying in-house accessibility training, as well as creating a learning forum for managers
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada includes diversity and inclusion objectives as part of management's formal performance management agreements, such as requiring executives to identify recruitment and development activities to increase the social and cultural diversity of the workforce
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada participates in the Aboriginal Leadership Development Initiative, an 18-month program that develops Aboriginal employees at the EX-1 level with the aim of supporting them to become an executive within the federal government through training, mentorship, community building and secondment opportunities

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada employee at an event during National Public Service Week in 2019

As an employee with disabilities, I have really appreciated the work being done by ISED’s Accessibility Secretariat. This small but mighty team is driving culture change around accessibility and disability inclusion at ISED, and has launched amazing initiatives. I appreciate the effort the Accessibility Secretariat has put into designing these initiatives in partnership with employees with disabilities and the emphasis they place on ensuring our perspectives and expertise are heard and valued. By honouring the principle of “nothing about us, without us” in everything they do, the Secretariat is a true leader in accessibility, and they are building a better ISED for employees with disabilities. Mercedes Mueller, chair of Persons with Disabilities Network

Highlights

Industry	Federal government, industry and economic development programs
Major Canadian hiring locations	Dartmouth NS, Edmonton AB, Québec QC, Montréal QC, Toronto ON, Sudbury ON, London ON, Hamilton ON, Ottawa ON, Gatineau QC
Full-time employees in Canada	6,160
Management of diversity and inclusion initiatives	manages a departmental inclusion committee as well as an employment equity, diversity and inclusion program plan (with sector-specific plans), employs dedicated champions to advance key initiatives in the following areas: diversity and inclusion, accessibility, LGBTQ2+ network, visible minorities, women, Indigenous employees, GBA+, mental health, and official languages
Performance management and accountability	organizes self-identification campaigns a minimum of once per year and tracks various aspects of diversity through its workforce analysis, statistics are compiled into a departmental dashboard and shared with management on a biannual basis, diversity and inclusion objectives are included in managers' performance management assessments
Employee resource groups	VizMin Employee Network, Persons with Disabilities Network, Indigenous Employee Network, LGBTQ2+ Employee Network, Black Employees Network
Noteworthy diversity strategies and policies	contributed to the development of the federal accessibility strategy (actions include naming a champion for accessibility, creating a network of employees with disabilities, and conducting a preliminary gap analysis to identify, remove and prevent barriers to accessibility), maintains an ombudsman for mental health and employee well-being
Recruitment initiatives	recruits persons with intellectual disabilities in partnership with LiveWorkPlay, participates in the Employment Opportunity for Students with Disabilities initiative, the Federal Internship for Canadians with Disabilities program, the Federal Internship for Newcomers program, and the Indigenous Student Employment Opportunity program, participates in the #AbleTo recruitment campaign for students with disabilities (part of the David C. Onley Initiative)
Retention and development programs	participates in the Aboriginal Leadership Development Initiative to help train participants to become executives through an 18-month learning and development program (led by Indigenous Services Canada)
Training and awareness initiatives	mandatory training on GBA+, mental health training for employees, managers and executives, orientation for new employees includes resources on diversity, inclusion and mental health, in-house training on creating accessible documents and presentations, LGBTQ2+ inclusion training hosted by the organization's LGBTQ2+ Network (and in collaboration with Wisdom2Action), Positive Space initiative and ambassadors (to create a safer, respectful and open-minded environment for 2SLGBTQ+ communities), "Did you know?" series in its internal newsletter to increase awareness of religious diversity
Diversity highlights	mental health network and over 100 mental health champions and ambassadors, is investing in Canada’s first-ever Women Entrepreneurship Strategy to provide direct investments for women-owned or women-led businesses

The Career Directory

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada has been selected for The Career Directory, our guide to entry-level recruitment for recent college and university graduates.

Employees check out the Digital Lounge at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, which supports the organization's vision of being an innovative, digital-by-default workplace

Highlights for New Grads

Industry	Federal government, industry and economic development programs
Full-time employees in Canada	5,001 to 10,000
Parent company	Government of Canada
Parent company head office	Ottawa ON
Major Canadian hiring locations	Dartmouth NS, Edmonton AB, Québec QC, Montréal QC, Toronto ON, Sudbury ON, London ON, Hamilton ON, Ottawa ON, Gatineau QC
Student opportunities	paid internships, summer jobs, co-op opportunities
Training	subsidies for professional accreditation, orientation program, online training, in-house training, mentoring, in-house career planning services
Tuition subsidies (related to job)	yes
Typical new grad positions	Economist, Commerce Officer, Communication Advisor, Policy Analyst, Patent Examiner, Computer Specialist, Metrologist, Competition Law Officer, Financial Officer, Human Resources Advisor
Starting salary	$55K to $60K
Work benefits	health benefits for new employees, flexible work hours, telecommuting, employees receive paid time off to volunteer, (up to 1 paid day)
Vacation allowance	new employees receive 3 weeks of paid vacation after their first year on the job

Academic fields recruited

Bachelor of Arts
- Economics
- Human Resources
- Public Relations / Communications
Bachelor of Commerce / Business Administration
- Accounting
- Finance
- Human Resources
- Information Systems
- Marketing
- Public Administration
Bachelor of Engineering
- Aerospace
- Chemical
- Electrical
- Mechanical
Bachelor of Laws
- Copyright / Patent
- Corporate
Bachelor of Science
- Actuarial / Statistics
- Computer Science
- Environmental
- Information Studies / Library Science
- Mathematics
Master of Arts
Master of Business Administration
Master of Engineering
Master of Science
Professional Accreditation
- Accounting (CMA)

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

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