Attracting and developing your future workforce requires innovative thinking, agility, and partnerships between employers and educational institutions. It all starts at the Future Workforce conference.
Brainstorm Strategy Group surveyed more than 20,000 members of Canada’s future workforce – current university and college students – to find out which employers they would most like to work for.
The result is the most authoritative ranking of employers published in Canada.
Canada’s Future Workforce Top Employers for 2023 will be announced at the Future Workforce conference on December 7 & 8, 2022.
Awards will be presented for those employers ranked among the top 25 in the following categories:
•Overall
•Business
•Arts & Science
•Computer Science
•Health & Medicine
•Engineering
Future Workforce is all about attracting, recruiting, and developing the talent that will tackle the challenges of tomorrow.
By bringing together the employers who hire emerging talent and the educational institutions that develop Canadian youth, Future Workforce facilitates the exchange of ideas, practices, and insights that build better partnerships that lead to brighter outcomes for today’s students and grads.
Register NowThe Future Workforce conference is all about educating, hiring, and developing the talent that will tackle the challenges of tomorrow.
Together, employers and educators will explore these and other themes:
Hybrid school and work experiences, the social justice movement, political unrest, and the warming planet are just a few of the influences changing the future generation of workers.
The challenge of bringing diversity, equity and inclusion to our educational institutions and workplaces is massive. But the opportunity for Canada and Canadians is bigger.
Employers want new hires with practical experience and students are demanding work opportunities from their educational institutions. The shift is revolutionizing post-secondary education, student recruitment, and early talent management.
Anyone who believes that attracting and engaging young talent is critical to the success of their organization should attend, including:
Anyone who seeks to better prepare students for their careers should attend, including:
We’re all in a race. The pressure, the deadlines, the competition for students. For Olympian Sarah Wells, it was a literal race at the Olympic Games and on the popular TV show The Amazing Race, but in the Student Engagement world...
We’re all in a race. The pressure, the deadlines, the competition for students. For Olympian Sarah Wells, it was a literal race at the Olympic Games and on the popular TV show The Amazing Race, but in the Student Engagement world, there are a lot of parallels. While every scenario may be unique, we all have pressure to move quickly and push boundaries in order to achieve success. In this session Sarah will bring her energetic approach to teach us how to ignite ambition through fostering self-belief, how to inspire action by leveraging our distinguished strengths, and how we can redefine success to create momentum everyday. You’ll want to listen up when Olympic semi-finalist and Pan American silver medallist Sarah Wells takes the stage!
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Olympian, Founder, The Believe Initiative
Obstacles don't scare Sarah Wells. As an Olympic hurdler and Pan Am Games Silver medallist, Sarah has become an expert in overcoming hurdles both literally and figuratively. Founder of the Believe Initiative, Sarah has used her story to help over 125,000 people in North America understand the importance of being resilient and the power of believing in yourself. Sarah has worked with organizations such as Salesforce, Deloitte, Proctor and Gamble, Kraft-Heinz, Bell Media, and Google on how to build more resilient teams and leverage passion to activate purpose. Most recently you might recognize Sarah from Season 7 of the Amazing Race Canada where she finished as runner up, and was able to use her skills in a whole new kind of way. As someone who used to exercise for a living, she's a little bit crazy, but very passionate about making an impact. You'll want to listen up when Olympic semi-finalist and Pan Am Games silver medallist Sarah Wells takes the stage!
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Everyone has an opinion about "students today". We seek generalizations to help us understand how to attract, support, and hire them. And while these generalizations may help...
Everyone has an opinion about "students today". We seek generalizations to help us understand how to attract, support, and hire them. And while these generalizations may help us make decisions, invest resources, and possibly even become more effective in our work with students, they often hide a diversity of views, experiences, and interests.
This presentation will feature highlights of a new edition of the Brainstorm Student Career Interests Report focused on developing a better understanding of the interests, aspirations, and employer preferences of today's students. Based on an in-depth 2022 survey of more than 20,000 current Canadian university and college students, the report provides insights to help schools better support their students and to guide employers in the development of recruitment programs and early talent management.
While providing fresh insights into the general characteristics of current students; the breadth of this research also allows us to uncover the unique attributes of students by gender, diversity group, age, major area of study and GPA.
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President and CEO, Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc.
Graham Donald is one of North America’s leading experts on attracting, recruiting, and engaging students and graduates.
He founded Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc. in 2003 to focus on improving students’ school-to-work transition by advising and training both the employers that hire students and the educators who support their career development on campus.
His clients have included KPMG, PwC, University of Toronto, Deloitte, GE, McGill University, HSBC, UBC, Rutgers University, Kraft, and many others.
He chairs several conferences annually including the Campus Recruiting Forums in cities across Canada and the USA; the Canadian Career Development Summit; and, the Strategic Enrolment Marketing & Management Forum. He also speaks regularly at conferences across the US and Canada.
Graham Donald is a firm believer in the value of a general arts education and makes use every day of the skills he developed pursuing a double-major in English and Literary Studies. He received both his BA and MBA from the University of Toronto.
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(Additional speakers will be announced soon)
Senior Manager, Early Talent Programs,
RBC
Adam McLeod is the Senior Manager for T&O Early Talent Programs at RBC, responsible for leading the Core Student Program for 800+ co-op students each year. He is also the co-chair of RBC NextGen, an Employee Resource Group with over 15,000 members, focusing on enabling early to mid career employees to have a meaningful and dynamic journey at RBC. Over a ten year career at RBC, Adam has worked across multiple lines of business, mostly in Program Management and Agile Enablement. As a volunteer he has coached baseball teams for many years, and has been a mentor for highschool robotics teams. Before joining RBC he was an English teacher and an unsuccessful poet. He holds BBA and MBA degrees from the Schulich School of Business at York University, and a certificate in Project Management from Centennial College. Adam lives in Whitby, Ontario with his wife Karolina and his dog Toby. He enjoys reading (mostly fiction and poetry) and eating (anything good).
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Sr. Intern Success Specialist and Program Manager - Shopify RnD Internships,
Shopify
In AJ's 5 years with Shopify they have worked to build and improve Shopify's Intern Program. AJ has a passion for creating an unmatched intern experience that focuses on learning, community building, and inclusivity for all intern participants. AJ began as a recruiter for Shopify's intern program where he found great joy in building relationships and helping interns reach their full potential. AJ takes this same human first approach when planning, building, and organizing all aspects of Shopify's Intern Program.
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Manager, Student Coaching & Development Co-op, Career & Experiential Education,
Brock University
As Manager, Student Coaching & Development at Co-op, Career & Experiential Education, Brock University, Alesia Dane leads a highly skilled team to coach and develop student talent. Alesia's passion includes connecting organizations to campus talent in innovative and meaningful ways.
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Academic Program Manager, Work-Integrated Learning and Career Education Centre,
NorQuest College
Alison Reaves is the Academic Program Manager for the Work-Integrated Learning and Career Education Centre at NorQuest College where she manages projects and supports her team to connect students to the workforce through experiential learning, skill development, and industry engagement. Previously, Alison was the Associate Director for Business Career Services at Appalachian State University where she coordinated all business internships, taught career development courses, and supported students. Alison brings over ten years of experience in career development, student support, and industry engagement.
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Manager, Campus Talent Acquisition,
PwC Canada
Amanda Bibeau is Manager, Campus Talent Acquisition with PwC Canada and recently earned her Master's Degree in Technology Operations and Innovation from the University of Winnipeg. In her current portfolio, Amanda oversees strategy and operations pertaining to CPA Early Talent Acquisition and manages relationships with key Universities and Accounting bodies while coaching a team of Associates and Senior Associates throughout Western Canada. In addition, she is highly involved in diversity and inclusion initiatives. She brings with her over 9 years of focused Campus Recruitment experience and a passion for helping young professionals launch and love their careers!
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National Campus & Early Talent Recruitment Leader,
KPMG MSLP
Angela’s career is built on a diverse set of learning opportunities. After obtaining her CPA, CA designation at KPMG, she took on the opportunity to lead the GTA campus recruitment team where she focused on attracting top talent from several Canadian universities for summer, co-op and full-time roles in audit, tax, advisory. Angela has also coached and educated students from the Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science on job search and professional development skills through 1:1 advising, online webinars and curriculum development. Today, she leads KPMG Canada's national campus recruitment strategy - collaborating with the best-in-class campus recruiters and employer brand team!
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Senior Director, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion,
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
Angela is Senior Director, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment with responsibility and oversight of MLSE’s evolving EDI community of practice, advancing the organization’s commitment to create an equitable, diverse and inclusive workplace respectful and reflective of its community and fans. Angela and her team engage closely with key networks to develop and execute enterprise and Team EDI initiatives, combining strategic planning, coordination and communication, resource and capacity management, learning, awareness building and progress reporting. Prior to this role, over her 18-year career with RBC, Angela held multiple leadership positions, responsible for the strategic design and operational effectiveness of sales and service teams and for implementing effective diversity strategies and programs that interrupt bias, elevate cultural competency and cultivate belonging. In support of her strong commitment to EDI, Angela is an active mentor devoting her time to empower and prepare youth to navigate their careers, in particular, young women from backgrounds of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour.
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Vice President, Talent Acquisition ,
QuadReal Property Group
Brien Convery is a purpose-driven, people-centric executive with decades of diversified and progressive global experience. His work spans a wide range of industries and disciplines, in both public and private sectors.
From his start in Consumer Products to Management Consulting Services, Financial Services and Banking, Construction and now to Real Estate Investment and Development with QuadReal, Brien has built a robust career portfolio focusing on human resources and talent acquisition.
As an American / Canadian talent executive, published thought leader and TEDx speaker, Brien has been featured in many well-known publications including the Toronto Star, American Banker and Dell Technologies. Most recently, he was recognized by LinkedIn as a 2021 LinkedIn Best Talent Voices/Talent Leader Award Finalist. He produces and hosts his podcast series #CoffeeWithConvery on Anchor® by Spotify to inspire the next generation of young talent and give students a voice as they navigate the school to work transition.
Brien currently holds the part-time position of Executive in Residence, Department of Management at the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus where he is an advisor to faculty; to the research team to provide development guidance of community-based work-integrated-learning projects; and to students in areas of professional development and leadership.
Brien is a graduate of The University of Hartford, Connecticut holding a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration, Management and Operations.
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Executive Director,
CEWIL Canada
Charlene lives on the unceded and occupied lands of the Abenaki Peoples (Sherbrooke, Quebec) with her partner of almost 20 years, her seven old daughter, an international student, three senior dogs and a cat. She worked in post-secondary for over 15 years, the past 12 being in co-op and experiential learning. Most recently, she took on the role of Executive Director for CEWIL Canada where she shares her passion for all things WIL. She is a volunteer basketball mom (and bench coach) to a CEGEP D1 women's basketball program in Sherbrooke and an active volunteer at her daughter's school. She is also pursuing an individualized master's program in WIL and employer engagement. She is fluent in English and French.
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Associate Director, Strategic Partnerships & Outreach,
CEWIL Canada
Dan Lonergan is an outgoing, charismatic work integrated learning professional and father to two amazing boys. When he's not discussing strategic partnerships for CEWIL Canada or hosting their podcast, "into the WILderness", he can be found playing bass guitar, skiing or watching Seinfeld on repeat. With over 7 years experience in the field, Dan will take anyone up on the opportunity to chat about innovative WIL ideas, incorporating WIL into curricular programing (especially in Business schools), sharing best practices, helping students navigate their career paths and helping industry discover a multitude of ways to connect with the next generation.
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Indigenous Engagement Lead,
Accelerate Her Future
Dana is a proud Swampy Cree/Metis woman from Saskatchewan with a strong connection to her Cree culture, values, and worldview. She received her BA, MA, and MBA from the University of Saskatchewan and has worked in various roles in higher education throughout her professional career. She has played a leading role in many Indigenous engagement and equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) strategies and initiatives and advocates for building more inclusive practices and processes in post-secondary environments and in workplaces. Her passion and goals are to give back and contribute to the prosperity of Indigenous people and communities, advance truth and reconciliation in Canada, and facilitate meaningful engagement between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and communities.
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Senior Coordinator of Diverse Talent Partnerships,
Zendesk
Darrius is a connector. He finds joy in connecting people to people, people to opportunities and organizations to companies. Currently, he serves as the Senior Coordinator of Diverse Talent Partnerships at Zendesk where he is responsible for establishing and cultivating partnerships with organizations to help build pipelines of underrepresented talent.
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Founder,
Divity Group & Accelerate Her Future
Dr. Golnaz Golnaraghi (she/her) is an Iranian Canadian immigrant women author, speaker, and award-winning changemaker. With more than 30 years of professional experience, through Divity Group, Golnaz provides facilitation, leadership development, equity, diversity and inclusion education and program design services. She is the Founder of Accelerate Her FutureTM, a leading career accelerator in Canada providing tailored programs by and for self-identified Black, Indigenous and women of colour pursuing careers in business and tech while building networks of solidarity and action. She holds an MBA from the University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business and a Doctor of Business Administration from Athabasca University. Her talks, research and commentary have appeared in conferences, podcasts, journals, books and media internationally. A TEDx speaker, Golnaz has been named as a Globe & Mail Report on Business Changemaker (2021) and a Future of Good New Founder to Watch (2022).
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Professor, Entrepreneurship and Strategy, & Founder, Diversity Institute, Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan University | Research Lead, Future Skills Centre | Academic Director,
Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub
President and CEO,
Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc.
Graham Donald is one of North America’s leading experts on attracting, recruiting, and engaging students and graduates.
He founded Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc. in 2003 to focus on improving students’ school-to-work transition by advising and training both the employers that hire students and the educators who support their career development on campus.
His clients have included KPMG, PwC, University of Toronto, Deloitte, GE, McGill University, HSBC, UBC, Rutgers University, Kraft, and many others.
He chairs several conferences annually including the Campus Recruiting Forums in cities across Canada and the USA; the Canadian Career Development Summit; and, the Strategic Enrolment Marketing & Management Forum. He also speaks regularly at conferences across the US and Canada.
Graham Donald is a firm believer in the value of a general arts education and makes use every day of the skills he developed pursuing a double-major in English and Literary Studies. He received both his BA and MBA from the University of Toronto.
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Analytics DevOps Engineer,
Scotiabank
Hoda Abokhadra is currently working as an Analytics DevOps Engineer at Scotiabank while pursuing her Master's degree in Data Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. As an active member in the Google Developers community, Hoda currently holds multiple positions as a Women Techmakers Ambassador and an Organizer at the Google Developer Group in Mississauga.
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Director and Global Head, Campus Recruitment & Talent Development,
Scotiabank
In almost 12 years at Scotiabank, Jena has held progressively senior roles across multiple business lines and teams including operations, risk, and most recently human resources. With a passion for learning, marketing, performance management, and early talent, she found a home in campus recruitment and talent development. Jena leads a global team of campus recruiters and program managers, across four countries supporting all areas of the organization. She was part of the remarkable team three years ago that launched a resume-less process for campus hiring across the bank, and has been proud that the team has never looked back! Jena loves breaking down barriers, trying new things, and challenging the status quo.
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Director, Community Engagement,
Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc.
Jennifer Powell has 13 years of experience working in the post-secondary sector in areas that include communications, marketing, admissions, student recruitment, student services, work integrated learning, career development, event planning and stakeholder relations.
During her time at Durham College, she also was a member of the Board of Governors.
Prior to joining the sector, Jennifer worked at a national not-for-profit that represented the interests of both grocery retailers and foodservice distributors across Canada in both event planning and public policy positions.
Jennifer holds a diploma from Sir Sandford Fleming as well as post-graduate certificates obtained through Ontario Tech University and Ryerson University and a micro-credential through the Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc.
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Experiential Learning Coordinator/King’s Promise Developer, Student Affairs,
King’s University College at Western University
Jenny Richmond-Bravo works as an Experiential Learning Coordinator at King’s University College (an affiliate of Western University) in London, Ontario, where she develops and coordinates experiential and work-integrated learning opportunities for students, including The King’s Promise – a co-curricular career development program.
Jenny earned her M.Ed. in Adult Education and Community Development at the University of Toronto, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education in 2010, and has just begun the Ed.D. program in Educational Leadership at Western. She also holds a certificate in Career Education from CACEE (Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers). Jenny is passionate about experiential and community-engaged learning as avenues for the development of holistic competencies and transferable skills which can be applied in all aspects of life.
At home, Jenny is the mother of 8-year-old twins who keep life busy and very interesting!
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University Relations Recruiter,
Zendesk
Kielley has helped build a mentorship program from scratch for over 50 students globally. In her past career, Kielley also led professional development classes dedicated to improving student marketability, specifically in underrepresented talent groups. Overall, Kielley has over 6 years of career and professional development experience for students.
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Regional Associate Director, Atlantic Canada,
CEWIL Canada
Krista Steeves is the regional associate director - Atlantic Canada for the IHub at CEWIL Canada. The IHub supports work-integrated learning projects in post-secondary education for entrepreneurship, field placements, community service-learning and community and industry research projects. CEWIL is the leading expert on curricular work-integrated learning in Canada with a focus on quality experiences for students that contain personal and critical reflection. Previously she held the role of director of experiential learning and career development at Mount Allison University. She has worked in the post-secondary environment for over 25 years and has held various positions in Student Life at the University of Toronto and St.Francis Xavier University. Krista is a Mount Allison grad with a BA in Sociology and Anthropology, she holds 2 Masters degrees from the University of Toronto, one in Higher Education Policy and one in Counselling and Psychotherapy. She is also a professional licensed counselling therapist in the province of New Brunswick and runs her own counselling and consulting business. One of her passion's is entrepreneurship and inspiring others to chase their dreams and silence the critic who says it can't be done!
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Skills Translation Co-ordinator Co-op, Career & Experiential Education,
Brock University
Laura Fyfe is a career professional with a background in labour market research. As Skills Translation Co-ordinator in the department of Co-op, Career & Experiential Education at Brock University, Laura facilitates meaningful connections between skills, education, and the ever-evolving labour market. Laura has been at the forefront of developing and integrating Brock's campus-wide career competencies framework.
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Portfolio Manager, Global Technology Applications,
Scotiabank
Laura pursued her CPA, CA designation and worked in the accounting field for 6 years before realizing her true passion: working with people in the HR space. After a career shift to HR, Laura is working on people initiatives within Scotiabank's Global Technology Applications team. Previously, Laura was the Campus Recruitment Manager for Technology and Corporate Functions at Scotiabank. Laura loves helping students with early career development and helping others pursue their passions. In her spare time, you can find Laura playing sports and spending time with family.
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Manager, Career Education,
Toronto Metropolitan University
Maurice Fernandes is an award-winning Recruitment professional with over 20 years of experience specializing in campus recruitment, employment brand, and career education. Maurice's recruitment experience has taken him as far west as Silicon Valley and as far east as Prince Edward Island. Maurice was responsible for an early talent acquisition program that was recognized by Canada's Top Employers for Young People. Maurice has spoken about HR/recruitment best practices and labour trends at a variety of conferences and campuses and contributed to articles for the Globe and Mail and the Canadian HR Reporter. Maurice is currently a Career Education Manager at the Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson) Career, Co-op, Student Success Centre. When not geeking out on chaos theories in career development, Maurice can be found on a softball field, agonizing over his fantasy football team, or perfecting ice cream recipes.
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Vice President of Revenue,
Knockri
In her role at Knockri, Melissa works with leading organizations and institutions to defeat bias and increase diversity in talent acquisition, development, and mobility. In the last 12 years, Melissa has held various client-facing roles with a focus on understanding complex challenges and helping to address them with innovative technologies. Melissa’s passion for equity throughout the talent lifecycle is what brought her to Knockri, where she leads teams that are committed to understanding and addressing barriers to diversity, equity, and inclusion. In her spare time, she can be found cheering her young children on as they try their hand at various sports and activities!
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Director, Recruitment and Onboarding,
Ontario Power Generation
Roberta is a passionate, high-energy leader with cross-functional experience working in Supply Chain, Regulatory Affairs, Human Resources and Change Management at Ontario Power Generation. Roberta holds a Honours Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Guelph, a Masters in Business Administration from Queen’s University and is a Certified Human Resources Leader. She draws on her strengths in team leadership, communication, and strategic-thinking combined with solid business acumen, integrity, and project management.
In her current role, as a Director in Recruitment and Onboarding, she leads a team of HR professionals to develop enterprise recruitment strategies and services that support the organization achieve its resourcing and business goals. Prior to this role, Roberta was a Director in Talent Management, Change and Leadership Training where she led a team to develop enterprise people and change strategies and programming. Roberta started her career in Regulatory Affairs and has also held various positions with increasing responsibility in Human Resources and Supply Chain.
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Director, Talent Acquisition,
Hydro One Networks Inc.
Sabrin Lila is the Director, Talent Acquisition at Hydro One Networks Inc. She is an energetic leader, who has held this position since 2022 and has experience in multiple disciplines including Compensation, HR Analytics, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Organizational Design and Employee & Labour Relation.
Sabrin is focused on designing innovative ways to attract, retain and motivate diverse talent. She is forward thinking and keenly interested in designing strategies to prepare for the future workplace, through programs such as workforce planning and analytics.
She holds a Masters of Industrial Relations and Human Resources from the University of Toronto and Bachelor of Political Science from Wilfrid Laurier University.
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Olympian, Founder,
The Believe Initiative
Obstacles don't scare Sarah Wells. As an Olympic hurdler and Pan Am Games Silver medallist, Sarah has become an expert in overcoming hurdles both literally and figuratively. Founder of the Believe Initiative, Sarah has used her story to help over 125,000 people in North America understand the importance of being resilient and the power of believing in yourself. Sarah has worked with organizations such as Salesforce, Deloitte, Proctor and Gamble, Kraft-Heinz, Bell Media, and Google on how to build more resilient teams and leverage passion to activate purpose. Most recently you might recognize Sarah from Season 7 of the Amazing Race Canada where she finished as runner up, and was able to use her skills in a whole new kind of way. As someone who used to exercise for a living, she's a little bit crazy, but very passionate about making an impact. You'll want to listen up when Olympic semi-finalist and Pan Am Games silver medallist Sarah Wells takes the stage!
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Vice President of Global Talent Acquisition,
Ceridian
Steve is the Vice-President of Global Talent Attraction at Ceridian responsible for the enterprise TA strategy and delivery for all roles across the organization from early talent to executive hires. Leading a diverse global team from Montreal to Manila to Mauritius, the TA team partners directly with the business to proactively source for the future talent needs of Ceridian.
Prior to Ceridian, Steve spent 12 years with GE where he started as the Head of TA for Canada then took on additional responsibilities in 2001 leading talent acquisition for GE’s emerging markets including Asia, Africa and the Middle East. His last role with GE was as Global Head of TA leading a team of 700+ TA professionals across 40+ countries with responsibility for recruitment technology, talent analytics, talent sourcing and research as well as recruitment marketing and branding. He most recently joined Ceridian from the TD Bank Group as their Vice President of Talent Acquisition.
Steve has been dedicated to the recruitment function for the last 25 years and a frequent guest speaker at conferences and seminars focused on the talent attraction space. His volunteer work is currently focused on Providence Healthcare where he acts as the Chair for the E-Philanthropy Advisory Committee. His true passion in life is travelling across the globe with wife Christine and boys Gavin and James. Favorite spots include Tokyo, Dubai, Hawaii, California and the islands of the Bahamas.
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Senior Manager, Enterprise Campus & Early Talent Recruitment, Technology & Operations, Corporate Areas, Wealth Management, and Commercial Banking,
BMO Financial Group
Vicky is a Senior Manager within BMO’s Enterprise Campus & Early Talent team, responsibly for the strategic oversight of recruitment efforts for students and recent graduates into the Technology & Operations, Corporate Areas, Wealth Management, and Commercial Banking business units. With 12 years of experience in talent acquisition, candidate experience, program design and execution, and cross-functional stakeholder management, Vicky is a passionate advocate for early talent and the impactful contributions they bring to organizations like BMO. When Vicky is not wearing her early talent recruitment hat, she can be found on the soccer field cheering her 8 year old daughter on!
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Associate Director, Career Education,
Toronto Metropolitan University
Wincy Li is an award-winning student affairs professional/researcher, whose interests include international students' experience in Canadian post-secondary institutions and the labour market, internationalization of higher education, and the global trend of professionalization of student affairs. Her passion for serving various equity-deserving student/client groups is driven by her experience as an international, first-generation, working-class university student. Over the last 15 years, she has worked in case management and program administration roles in higher education, non-profit, and community organizations. When not leading an outstanding team of career educators at Toronto Metropolitan University, you can find her experimenting with recipes or planning her next overseas trip.
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(Additional Presentations TBA)
Day One - Weds, Dec 7
(All times in EST)Everyone has an opinion about "students today". We seek generalizations to help us understand how to attract, support, and hire them. And while these generalizations may help...
Everyone has an opinion about "students today". We seek generalizations to help us understand how to attract, support, and hire them. And while these generalizations may help us make decisions, invest resources, and possibly even become more effective in our work with students, they often hide a diversity of views, experiences, and interests.
This presentation will feature highlights of a new edition of the Brainstorm Student Career Interests Report focused on developing a better understanding of the interests, aspirations, and employer preferences of today's students. Based on an in-depth 2022 survey of more than 20,000 current Canadian university and college students, the report provides insights to help schools better support their students and to guide employers in the development of recruitment programs and early talent management.
While providing fresh insights into the general characteristics of current students; the breadth of this research also allows us to uncover the unique attributes of students by gender, diversity group, age, major area of study and GPA.
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President and CEO, Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc.
Graham Donald is one of North America’s leading experts on attracting, recruiting, and engaging students and graduates.
He founded Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc. in 2003 to focus on improving students’ school-to-work transition by advising and training both the employers that hire students and the educators who support their career development on campus.
His clients have included KPMG, PwC, University of Toronto, Deloitte, GE, McGill University, HSBC, UBC, Rutgers University, Kraft, and many others.
He chairs several conferences annually including the Campus Recruiting Forums in cities across Canada and the USA; the Canadian Career Development Summit; and, the Strategic Enrolment Marketing & Management Forum. He also speaks regularly at conferences across the US and Canada.
Graham Donald is a firm believer in the value of a general arts education and makes use every day of the skills he developed pursuing a double-major in English and Literary Studies. He received both his BA and MBA from the University of Toronto.
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Summer internships are a key component to many organizations' overall campus branding and talent sourcing strategy. However, creating a truly impactful experience requires a...
Summer internships are a key component to many organizations' overall campus branding and talent sourcing strategy. However, creating a truly impactful experience requires a comprehensive strategy – especially when the competition for top talent is fierce. A well thought-out program can be an important differentiator for your brand on campus.
This workshop will explore how employers can build a truly memorable summer internship that will create a foundation for their ambassador program and ensure persuasive word-of-mouth on campus. We'll discuss engaging interns to build authentic content to support employer branding. And, we'll look at ways to involve your hiring managers in engaging with interns to enhance the student experience and improve managers' understanding of how to engage with Generation Z students.
Join us for the presentation, engage in the discussion, and come away with new ideas to enhance your internship program for summer 2023!
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National Campus & Early Talent Recruitment Leader, KPMG MSLP
Angela’s career is built on a diverse set of learning opportunities. After obtaining her CPA, CA designation at KPMG, she took on the opportunity to lead the GTA campus recruitment team where she focused on attracting top talent from several Canadian universities for summer, co-op and full-time roles in audit, tax, advisory. Angela has also coached and educated students from the Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science on job search and professional development skills through 1:1 advising, online webinars and curriculum development. Today, she leads KPMG Canada's national campus recruitment strategy - collaborating with the best-in-class campus recruiters and employer brand team!
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King's University College has recently launched a co-curricular career development program called The King's Promise - a voluntary 4-year program which offers...
King's University College has recently launched a co-curricular career development program called The King's Promise - a voluntary 4-year program which offers students a guarantee that they will find meaningful employment within 6 months of graduation or they can return to King's for an additional year tuition-free ("meaningful" here refers to a role that is aligned with the skills, competencies, and aspirations the student has developed at King's). Throughout the program, students develop employability skills through experiential learning activities, work-integrated learning placements, opportunities to build professional networks in the local community, and support to develop important pre-employment skills such as resume writing and interviewing.
The King's Promise program draws on Hoessler & Godden's (2021) Outcome-Based Experiential Learning framework in articulating outcomes for students such as "gain experience and awareness of workplace contexts and norms", and "engage with the local community". Reflective practice is utilized to help students make their learning personally relevant and to develop skills in articulating their own learning (Ash & Clayton, 2009). Student employment will be tracked throughout the program, especially upon graduation. The first cohort of King's Promise students will graduate in 2025.
This session will introduce participants to the King's Promise program, invite opportunities for discussion and collaboration, and hopefully plant some seeds for the development of similar programs at other institutions across Canada.
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Experiential Learning Coordinator/King’s Promise Developer, Student Affairs, King’s University College at Western University
Jenny Richmond-Bravo works as an Experiential Learning Coordinator at King’s University College (an affiliate of Western University) in London, Ontario, where she develops and coordinates experiential and work-integrated learning opportunities for students, including The King’s Promise – a co-curricular career development program.
Jenny earned her M.Ed. in Adult Education and Community Development at the University of Toronto, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education in 2010, and has just begun the Ed.D. program in Educational Leadership at Western. She also holds a certificate in Career Education from CACEE (Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers). Jenny is passionate about experiential and community-engaged learning as avenues for the development of holistic competencies and transferable skills which can be applied in all aspects of life.
At home, Jenny is the mother of 8-year-old twins who keep life busy and very interesting!
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Over the last two years, the Career, Co-op & Student Success Centre team at Toronto Metropolitan University has collaborated with colleagues in Student Affairs to deliver...
Over the last two years, the Career, Co-op & Student Success Centre team at Toronto Metropolitan University has collaborated with colleagues in Student Affairs to deliver cohort-based career education and mentorship programs to three targeted equity-deserving student groups: international, Black, and Indigenous. The cohort-based approach provides our students with a safe space to learn and debrief career development strategies through an equity lens, while building robust social networks and identity-based communities. We will share our experience and key lessons learned from this journey, and we look forward to discussing with attendees what similar initiatives exist in other institutions.
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Associate Director, Career Education, Toronto Metropolitan University
Wincy Li is an award-winning student affairs professional/researcher, whose interests include international students' experience in Canadian post-secondary institutions and the labour market, internationalization of higher education, and the global trend of professionalization of student affairs. Her passion for serving various equity-deserving student/client groups is driven by her experience as an international, first-generation, working-class university student. Over the last 15 years, she has worked in case management and program administration roles in higher education, non-profit, and community organizations. When not leading an outstanding team of career educators at Toronto Metropolitan University, you can find her experimenting with recipes or planning her next overseas trip.
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Manager, Career Education, Toronto Metropolitan University
Maurice Fernandes is an award-winning Recruitment professional with over 20 years of experience specializing in campus recruitment, employment brand, and career education. Maurice's recruitment experience has taken him as far west as Silicon Valley and as far east as Prince Edward Island. Maurice was responsible for an early talent acquisition program that was recognized by Canada's Top Employers for Young People. Maurice has spoken about HR/recruitment best practices and labour trends at a variety of conferences and campuses and contributed to articles for the Globe and Mail and the Canadian HR Reporter. Maurice is currently a Career Education Manager at the Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson) Career, Co-op, Student Success Centre. When not geeking out on chaos theories in career development, Maurice can be found on a softball field, agonizing over his fantasy football team, or perfecting ice cream recipes.
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Students, new graduates and career development practitioners alike have spent the past two years navigating an evolving early talent recruitment process. The changes aim to...
Students, new graduates and career development practitioners alike have spent the past two years navigating an evolving early talent recruitment process. The changes aim to shift the emphasis on candidate’s accomplishments and qualifications to relationship building thereby creating opportunities for those who may have been previously overlooked in traditional recruitment methods.
The ways in which post-secondary educators (PSEs) support and prepare students and recent graduates need to evolve along with these changes in campus recruitment. Join Brock University and Scotiabank for a roundtable discussion that will uncover how career development practitioners can better prepare students for non-traditional recruitment including: virtual and in-person networking, resume-less applications, building a strong recruiter-candidate relationship, and preparing for online talent and skills-assessment tools.
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Manager, Student Coaching & Development Co-op, Career & Experiential Education, Brock University
As Manager, Student Coaching & Development at Co-op, Career & Experiential Education, Brock University, Alesia Dane leads a highly skilled team to coach and develop student talent. Alesia's passion includes connecting organizations to campus talent in innovative and meaningful ways.
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Skills Translation Co-ordinator Co-op, Career & Experiential Education, Brock University
Laura Fyfe is a career professional with a background in labour market research. As Skills Translation Co-ordinator in the department of Co-op, Career & Experiential Education at Brock University, Laura facilitates meaningful connections between skills, education, and the ever-evolving labour market. Laura has been at the forefront of developing and integrating Brock's campus-wide career competencies framework.
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Director and Global Head, Campus Recruitment & Talent Development, Scotiabank
In almost 12 years at Scotiabank, Jena has held progressively senior roles across multiple business lines and teams including operations, risk, and most recently human resources. With a passion for learning, marketing, performance management, and early talent, she found a home in campus recruitment and talent development. Jena leads a global team of campus recruiters and program managers, across four countries supporting all areas of the organization. She was part of the remarkable team three years ago that launched a resume-less process for campus hiring across the bank, and has been proud that the team has never looked back! Jena loves breaking down barriers, trying new things, and challenging the status quo.
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We've come a very long way in a very short time in terms of how employers interact with students on campus and during their first experiences in the workplace. As interactions...
We've come a very long way in a very short time in terms of how employers interact with students on campus and during their first experiences in the workplace. As interactions transition back from primarily virtual towards more in person activities, it's important to reflect on what has worked and what we can learn from hindsight.
Our panel of campus talent acquisition experts will discuss highlights of what has changed, what this past fall looked like on campus, and what they anticipate the months ahead will hold. We'll explore the engagement strategies that worked during the recruitment process as well as during the work experiences themselves. The panel will tackle these questions:
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President and CEO, Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc.
Graham Donald is one of North America’s leading experts on attracting, recruiting, and engaging students and graduates.
He founded Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc. in 2003 to focus on improving students’ school-to-work transition by advising and training both the employers that hire students and the educators who support their career development on campus.
His clients have included KPMG, PwC, University of Toronto, Deloitte, GE, McGill University, HSBC, UBC, Rutgers University, Kraft, and many others.
He chairs several conferences annually including the Campus Recruiting Forums in cities across Canada and the USA; the Canadian Career Development Summit; and, the Strategic Enrolment Marketing & Management Forum. He also speaks regularly at conferences across the US and Canada.
Graham Donald is a firm believer in the value of a general arts education and makes use every day of the skills he developed pursuing a double-major in English and Literary Studies. He received both his BA and MBA from the University of Toronto.
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Director, Recruitment and Onboarding, Ontario Power Generation
Roberta is a passionate, high-energy leader with cross-functional experience working in Supply Chain, Regulatory Affairs, Human Resources and Change Management at Ontario Power Generation. Roberta holds a Honours Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Guelph, a Masters in Business Administration from Queen’s University and is a Certified Human Resources Leader. She draws on her strengths in team leadership, communication, and strategic-thinking combined with solid business acumen, integrity, and project management.
In her current role, as a Director in Recruitment and Onboarding, she leads a team of HR professionals to develop enterprise recruitment strategies and services that support the organization achieve its resourcing and business goals. Prior to this role, Roberta was a Director in Talent Management, Change and Leadership Training where she led a team to develop enterprise people and change strategies and programming. Roberta started her career in Regulatory Affairs and has also held various positions with increasing responsibility in Human Resources and Supply Chain.
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Senior Manager, Enterprise Campus & Early Talent Recruitment, Technology & Operations, Corporate Areas, Wealth Management, and Commercial Banking, BMO Financial Group
Vicky is a Senior Manager within BMO’s Enterprise Campus & Early Talent team, responsibly for the strategic oversight of recruitment efforts for students and recent graduates into the Technology & Operations, Corporate Areas, Wealth Management, and Commercial Banking business units. With 12 years of experience in talent acquisition, candidate experience, program design and execution, and cross-functional stakeholder management, Vicky is a passionate advocate for early talent and the impactful contributions they bring to organizations like BMO. When Vicky is not wearing her early talent recruitment hat, she can be found on the soccer field cheering her 8 year old daughter on!
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Sr. Intern Success Specialist and Program Manager - Shopify RnD Internships, Shopify
In AJ's 5 years with Shopify they have worked to build and improve Shopify's Intern Program. AJ has a passion for creating an unmatched intern experience that focuses on learning, community building, and inclusivity for all intern participants. AJ began as a recruiter for Shopify's intern program where he found great joy in building relationships and helping interns reach their full potential. AJ takes this same human first approach when planning, building, and organizing all aspects of Shopify's Intern Program.
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Manager, Campus Talent Acquisition, PwC Canada
Amanda Bibeau is Manager, Campus Talent Acquisition with PwC Canada and recently earned her Master's Degree in Technology Operations and Innovation from the University of Winnipeg. In her current portfolio, Amanda oversees strategy and operations pertaining to CPA Early Talent Acquisition and manages relationships with key Universities and Accounting bodies while coaching a team of Associates and Senior Associates throughout Western Canada. In addition, she is highly involved in diversity and inclusion initiatives. She brings with her over 9 years of focused Campus Recruitment experience and a passion for helping young professionals launch and love their careers!
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A confluence of factors have created tight labour market conditions, with more job vacancies than unemployed people in Canada. Paradoxically, despite demands for talent, recent...
A confluence of factors have created tight labour market conditions, with more job vacancies than unemployed people in Canada. Paradoxically, despite demands for talent, recent graduates face challenges seeking employment and matching their skills with the needs of employers. In this presentation, Dr. Wendy Cukier will share the latest trends on challenges in the post-secondary education ecosystem, and innovations and best practices for employers to attract talent from within this skilled labour pool.
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Professor, Entrepreneurship and Strategy, & Founder, Diversity Institute, Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan University | Research Lead, Future Skills Centre | Academic Director, Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub
President and CEO, Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc.
Graham Donald is one of North America’s leading experts on attracting, recruiting, and engaging students and graduates.
He founded Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc. in 2003 to focus on improving students’ school-to-work transition by advising and training both the employers that hire students and the educators who support their career development on campus.
His clients have included KPMG, PwC, University of Toronto, Deloitte, GE, McGill University, HSBC, UBC, Rutgers University, Kraft, and many others.
He chairs several conferences annually including the Campus Recruiting Forums in cities across Canada and the USA; the Canadian Career Development Summit; and, the Strategic Enrolment Marketing & Management Forum. He also speaks regularly at conferences across the US and Canada.
Graham Donald is a firm believer in the value of a general arts education and makes use every day of the skills he developed pursuing a double-major in English and Literary Studies. He received both his BA and MBA from the University of Toronto.
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Day Two - Thurs, Dec 8
(All times in EST)We’re all in a race. The pressure, the deadlines, the competition for students. For Olympian Sarah Wells, it was a literal race at the Olympic Games and on the popular TV...
We’re all in a race. The pressure, the deadlines, the competition for students. For Olympian Sarah Wells, it was a literal race at the Olympic Games and on the popular TV show The Amazing Race, but in the Student Engagement world, there are a lot of parallels. While every scenario may be unique, we all have pressure to move quickly and push boundaries in order to achieve success. In this session Sarah will bring her energetic approach to teach us how to ignite ambition through fostering self-belief, how to inspire action by leveraging our distinguished strengths, and how we can redefine success to create momentum everyday. You’ll want to listen up when Olympic semi-finalist and Pan American silver medallist Sarah Wells takes the stage!
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Olympian, Founder, The Believe Initiative
Obstacles don't scare Sarah Wells. As an Olympic hurdler and Pan Am Games Silver medallist, Sarah has become an expert in overcoming hurdles both literally and figuratively. Founder of the Believe Initiative, Sarah has used her story to help over 125,000 people in North America understand the importance of being resilient and the power of believing in yourself. Sarah has worked with organizations such as Salesforce, Deloitte, Proctor and Gamble, Kraft-Heinz, Bell Media, and Google on how to build more resilient teams and leverage passion to activate purpose. Most recently you might recognize Sarah from Season 7 of the Amazing Race Canada where she finished as runner up, and was able to use her skills in a whole new kind of way. As someone who used to exercise for a living, she's a little bit crazy, but very passionate about making an impact. You'll want to listen up when Olympic semi-finalist and Pan Am Games silver medallist Sarah Wells takes the stage!
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Over one-quarter of the workforce will be made up of Generation Z by 2025. What does this mean for our early professional hiring efforts? What is young talent looking for in...
Over one-quarter of the workforce will be made up of Generation Z by 2025. What does this mean for our early professional hiring efforts? What is young talent looking for in their careers, and how can your company stand out? Learn from industry leaders and experts as they share current and upcoming trends in EPH and how you can create and maintain a healthy pipeline of young talent.
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Vice President of Revenue, Knockri
In her role at Knockri, Melissa works with leading organizations and institutions to defeat bias and increase diversity in talent acquisition, development, and mobility. In the last 12 years, Melissa has held various client-facing roles with a focus on understanding complex challenges and helping to address them with innovative technologies. Melissa’s passion for equity throughout the talent lifecycle is what brought her to Knockri, where she leads teams that are committed to understanding and addressing barriers to diversity, equity, and inclusion. In her spare time, she can be found cheering her young children on as they try their hand at various sports and activities!
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Vice President of Global Talent Acquisition, Ceridian
Steve is the Vice-President of Global Talent Attraction at Ceridian responsible for the enterprise TA strategy and delivery for all roles across the organization from early talent to executive hires. Leading a diverse global team from Montreal to Manila to Mauritius, the TA team partners directly with the business to proactively source for the future talent needs of Ceridian.
Prior to Ceridian, Steve spent 12 years with GE where he started as the Head of TA for Canada then took on additional responsibilities in 2001 leading talent acquisition for GE’s emerging markets including Asia, Africa and the Middle East. His last role with GE was as Global Head of TA leading a team of 700+ TA professionals across 40+ countries with responsibility for recruitment technology, talent analytics, talent sourcing and research as well as recruitment marketing and branding. He most recently joined Ceridian from the TD Bank Group as their Vice President of Talent Acquisition.
Steve has been dedicated to the recruitment function for the last 25 years and a frequent guest speaker at conferences and seminars focused on the talent attraction space. His volunteer work is currently focused on Providence Healthcare where he acts as the Chair for the E-Philanthropy Advisory Committee. His true passion in life is travelling across the globe with wife Christine and boys Gavin and James. Favorite spots include Tokyo, Dubai, Hawaii, California and the islands of the Bahamas.
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Vice President, Talent Acquisition , QuadReal Property Group
Brien Convery is a purpose-driven, people-centric executive with decades of diversified and progressive global experience. His work spans a wide range of industries and disciplines, in both public and private sectors.
From his start in Consumer Products to Management Consulting Services, Financial Services and Banking, Construction and now to Real Estate Investment and Development with QuadReal, Brien has built a robust career portfolio focusing on human resources and talent acquisition.
As an American / Canadian talent executive, published thought leader and TEDx speaker, Brien has been featured in many well-known publications including the Toronto Star, American Banker and Dell Technologies. Most recently, he was recognized by LinkedIn as a 2021 LinkedIn Best Talent Voices/Talent Leader Award Finalist. He produces and hosts his podcast series #CoffeeWithConvery on Anchor® by Spotify to inspire the next generation of young talent and give students a voice as they navigate the school to work transition.
Brien currently holds the part-time position of Executive in Residence, Department of Management at the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus where he is an advisor to faculty; to the research team to provide development guidance of community-based work-integrated-learning projects; and to students in areas of professional development and leadership.
Brien is a graduate of The University of Hartford, Connecticut holding a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration, Management and Operations.
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Director, Talent Acquisition, Hydro One Networks Inc.
Sabrin Lila is the Director, Talent Acquisition at Hydro One Networks Inc. She is an energetic leader, who has held this position since 2022 and has experience in multiple disciplines including Compensation, HR Analytics, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Organizational Design and Employee & Labour Relation.
Sabrin is focused on designing innovative ways to attract, retain and motivate diverse talent. She is forward thinking and keenly interested in designing strategies to prepare for the future workplace, through programs such as workforce planning and analytics.
She holds a Masters of Industrial Relations and Human Resources from the University of Toronto and Bachelor of Political Science from Wilfrid Laurier University.
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Employers suggest that post-secondary institutions are not addressing the "soft skills" gap. While Career Centres have always supported students in identifying and articulating...
Employers suggest that post-secondary institutions are not addressing the "soft skills" gap. While Career Centres have always supported students in identifying and articulating employability skills gained in the classroom and through extra-curricular experiences, we can do more. NorQuest College has taken on this challenge by incorporating actual skill development into their programming that allows students to not only build employability skills, but also apply them.
Join Alison Reaves, Manager of the Work-Integrated Learning and Career Education Centre at NorQuest College and Project Manager of the Future Skills Centre innovation project, Career Moves, to identify ways Career Centres can support student skill development with measurable outcomes.
Alison will outline the skill development model, which includes individualized and asynchronous skill development workshops, skill assessment with industry input, micro-Work-Integrated Learning opportunities, validated skill badging and more. Learn about and share tools and methods to include skill development, application, and assessment into your Career Centre programming.
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Academic Program Manager, Work-Integrated Learning and Career Education Centre, NorQuest College
Alison Reaves is the Academic Program Manager for the Work-Integrated Learning and Career Education Centre at NorQuest College where she manages projects and supports her team to connect students to the workforce through experiential learning, skill development, and industry engagement. Previously, Alison was the Associate Director for Business Career Services at Appalachian State University where she coordinated all business internships, taught career development courses, and supported students. Alison brings over ten years of experience in career development, student support, and industry engagement.
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At Zendesk, we believe that building a healthy and robust early talent pipeline truly matters. In an increasingly virtual work environment, there is a strong desire to...
At Zendesk, we believe that building a healthy and robust early talent pipeline truly matters. In an increasingly virtual work environment, there is a strong desire to cultivate connections that we typically create working in-person. During our session, we will discuss how to build a strong mentor force utilizing employees and employee communities such as Employee Resources Groups (ERGs) creating leadership opportunities for employees, and both personal and professional development for our interns and students. Attendees will be provided with a step by step process to be able to create, monitor, and track a successful program.
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University Relations Recruiter, Zendesk
Kielley has helped build a mentorship program from scratch for over 50 students globally. In her past career, Kielley also led professional development classes dedicated to improving student marketability, specifically in underrepresented talent groups. Overall, Kielley has over 6 years of career and professional development experience for students.
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Senior Coordinator of Diverse Talent Partnerships, Zendesk
Darrius is a connector. He finds joy in connecting people to people, people to opportunities and organizations to companies. Currently, he serves as the Senior Coordinator of Diverse Talent Partnerships at Zendesk where he is responsible for establishing and cultivating partnerships with organizations to help build pipelines of underrepresented talent.
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Co-operative education and internship programs are tried, tested and true practices for attracting and recruiting new talent. In an environment where jobs are plenty,...
Co-operative education and internship programs are tried, tested and true practices for attracting and recruiting new talent. In an environment where jobs are plenty, competition is fierce, and new grads are looking for more than a pay cheque, attracting new talent takes some out of the box thinking.
Join Co-operative Education & Work-Integrated Learning (CEWIL) Canada as they introduce innovative strategies to reach the next generation of talent. They will present a variety of ideas to leverage experiential learning with post-secondary institutions that will further support existing WIL and New Grad employment strategies.
This will be an interactive session where presenters will call on participants to share their practices and thoughts on strategies presented.
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Executive Director, CEWIL Canada
Charlene lives on the unceded and occupied lands of the Abenaki Peoples (Sherbrooke, Quebec) with her partner of almost 20 years, her seven old daughter, an international student, three senior dogs and a cat. She worked in post-secondary for over 15 years, the past 12 being in co-op and experiential learning. Most recently, she took on the role of Executive Director for CEWIL Canada where she shares her passion for all things WIL. She is a volunteer basketball mom (and bench coach) to a CEGEP D1 women's basketball program in Sherbrooke and an active volunteer at her daughter's school. She is also pursuing an individualized master's program in WIL and employer engagement. She is fluent in English and French.
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Regional Associate Director, Atlantic Canada, CEWIL Canada
Krista Steeves is the regional associate director - Atlantic Canada for the IHub at CEWIL Canada. The IHub supports work-integrated learning projects in post-secondary education for entrepreneurship, field placements, community service-learning and community and industry research projects. CEWIL is the leading expert on curricular work-integrated learning in Canada with a focus on quality experiences for students that contain personal and critical reflection. Previously she held the role of director of experiential learning and career development at Mount Allison University. She has worked in the post-secondary environment for over 25 years and has held various positions in Student Life at the University of Toronto and St.Francis Xavier University. Krista is a Mount Allison grad with a BA in Sociology and Anthropology, she holds 2 Masters degrees from the University of Toronto, one in Higher Education Policy and one in Counselling and Psychotherapy. She is also a professional licensed counselling therapist in the province of New Brunswick and runs her own counselling and consulting business. One of her passion's is entrepreneurship and inspiring others to chase their dreams and silence the critic who says it can't be done!
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Associate Director, Strategic Partnerships & Outreach, CEWIL Canada
Dan Lonergan is an outgoing, charismatic work integrated learning professional and father to two amazing boys. When he's not discussing strategic partnerships for CEWIL Canada or hosting their podcast, "into the WILderness", he can be found playing bass guitar, skiing or watching Seinfeld on repeat. With over 7 years experience in the field, Dan will take anyone up on the opportunity to chat about innovative WIL ideas, incorporating WIL into curricular programing (especially in Business schools), sharing best practices, helping students navigate their career paths and helping industry discover a multitude of ways to connect with the next generation.
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For the RBC Technology and Operations Student Program, "our students are our clients". What does it mean to take that statement seriously? To try to build an experience that...
For the RBC Technology and Operations Student Program, "our students are our clients". What does it mean to take that statement seriously? To try to build an experience that puts students at the centre and is responsive to what they need, and what they care about most? For us, it has meant reflecting on and scrutinizing everything we do through a new lens. From the way we operate, to the metrics we track, to the mindset we hold, everything is subject to change and improvement to better align with this philosophy. We are still early on in this journey, but we are starting to see the approach paying dividends, and believe this is a worthwhile conversation to have with anyone working with or in early talent.
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Senior Manager, Early Talent Programs, RBC
Adam McLeod is the Senior Manager for T&O Early Talent Programs at RBC, responsible for leading the Core Student Program for 800+ co-op students each year. He is also the co-chair of RBC NextGen, an Employee Resource Group with over 15,000 members, focusing on enabling early to mid career employees to have a meaningful and dynamic journey at RBC. Over a ten year career at RBC, Adam has worked across multiple lines of business, mostly in Program Management and Agile Enablement. As a volunteer he has coached baseball teams for many years, and has been a mentor for highschool robotics teams. Before joining RBC he was an English teacher and an unsuccessful poet. He holds BBA and MBA degrees from the Schulich School of Business at York University, and a certificate in Project Management from Centennial College. Adam lives in Whitby, Ontario with his wife Karolina and his dog Toby. He enjoys reading (mostly fiction and poetry) and eating (anything good).
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Mentoring and other tailored initiatives for equity denied groups such as Black, Indigenous and racialized women offer great opportunities for employers to learn about the...
Mentoring and other tailored initiatives for equity denied groups such as Black, Indigenous and racialized women offer great opportunities for employers to learn about the lived experiences and diversify the talent pool. Partnering with external organizations, postsecondary institutions or creating your own programs are all great pathways. Yet, study after study show that employers have work to do in moving the dial on attracting and retaining diverse talent. Equity is ultimately about ensuring everyone has a full range of opportunities to benefit and flourish. Mentorship programs are a powerful pathway to equitable recruitment and equitable company cultures, when approached with intention and deeper understanding of equity issues.
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Founder, Divity Group & Accelerate Her Future
Dr. Golnaz Golnaraghi (she/her) is an Iranian Canadian immigrant women author, speaker, and award-winning changemaker. With more than 30 years of professional experience, through Divity Group, Golnaz provides facilitation, leadership development, equity, diversity and inclusion education and program design services. She is the Founder of Accelerate Her FutureTM, a leading career accelerator in Canada providing tailored programs by and for self-identified Black, Indigenous and women of colour pursuing careers in business and tech while building networks of solidarity and action. She holds an MBA from the University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business and a Doctor of Business Administration from Athabasca University. Her talks, research and commentary have appeared in conferences, podcasts, journals, books and media internationally. A TEDx speaker, Golnaz has been named as a Globe & Mail Report on Business Changemaker (2021) and a Future of Good New Founder to Watch (2022).
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Indigenous Engagement Lead, Accelerate Her Future
Dana is a proud Swampy Cree/Metis woman from Saskatchewan with a strong connection to her Cree culture, values, and worldview. She received her BA, MA, and MBA from the University of Saskatchewan and has worked in various roles in higher education throughout her professional career. She has played a leading role in many Indigenous engagement and equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) strategies and initiatives and advocates for building more inclusive practices and processes in post-secondary environments and in workplaces. Her passion and goals are to give back and contribute to the prosperity of Indigenous people and communities, advance truth and reconciliation in Canada, and facilitate meaningful engagement between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and communities.
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Senior Director, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
Angela is Senior Director, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment with responsibility and oversight of MLSE’s evolving EDI community of practice, advancing the organization’s commitment to create an equitable, diverse and inclusive workplace respectful and reflective of its community and fans. Angela and her team engage closely with key networks to develop and execute enterprise and Team EDI initiatives, combining strategic planning, coordination and communication, resource and capacity management, learning, awareness building and progress reporting. Prior to this role, over her 18-year career with RBC, Angela held multiple leadership positions, responsible for the strategic design and operational effectiveness of sales and service teams and for implementing effective diversity strategies and programs that interrupt bias, elevate cultural competency and cultivate belonging. In support of her strong commitment to EDI, Angela is an active mentor devoting her time to empower and prepare youth to navigate their careers, in particular, young women from backgrounds of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour.
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Portfolio Manager, Global Technology Applications, Scotiabank
Laura pursued her CPA, CA designation and worked in the accounting field for 6 years before realizing her true passion: working with people in the HR space. After a career shift to HR, Laura is working on people initiatives within Scotiabank's Global Technology Applications team. Previously, Laura was the Campus Recruitment Manager for Technology and Corporate Functions at Scotiabank. Laura loves helping students with early career development and helping others pursue their passions. In her spare time, you can find Laura playing sports and spending time with family.
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Analytics DevOps Engineer, Scotiabank
Hoda Abokhadra is currently working as an Analytics DevOps Engineer at Scotiabank while pursuing her Master's degree in Data Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. As an active member in the Google Developers community, Hoda currently holds multiple positions as a Women Techmakers Ambassador and an Organizer at the Google Developer Group in Mississauga.
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President and CEO, Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc.
Graham Donald is one of North America’s leading experts on attracting, recruiting, and engaging students and graduates.
He founded Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc. in 2003 to focus on improving students’ school-to-work transition by advising and training both the employers that hire students and the educators who support their career development on campus.
His clients have included KPMG, PwC, University of Toronto, Deloitte, GE, McGill University, HSBC, UBC, Rutgers University, Kraft, and many others.
He chairs several conferences annually including the Campus Recruiting Forums in cities across Canada and the USA; the Canadian Career Development Summit; and, the Strategic Enrolment Marketing & Management Forum. He also speaks regularly at conferences across the US and Canada.
Graham Donald is a firm believer in the value of a general arts education and makes use every day of the skills he developed pursuing a double-major in English and Literary Studies. He received both his BA and MBA from the University of Toronto.
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Director, Community Engagement, Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc.
Jennifer Powell has 13 years of experience working in the post-secondary sector in areas that include communications, marketing, admissions, student recruitment, student services, work integrated learning, career development, event planning and stakeholder relations.
During her time at Durham College, she also was a member of the Board of Governors.
Prior to joining the sector, Jennifer worked at a national not-for-profit that represented the interests of both grocery retailers and foodservice distributors across Canada in both event planning and public policy positions.
Jennifer holds a diploma from Sir Sandford Fleming as well as post-graduate certificates obtained through Ontario Tech University and Ryerson University and a micro-credential through the Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc.
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President and CEO, Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc.
Graham Donald is one of North America’s leading experts on attracting, recruiting, and engaging students and graduates.
He founded Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc. in 2003 to focus on improving students’ school-to-work transition by advising and training both the employers that hire students and the educators who support their career development on campus.
His clients have included KPMG, PwC, University of Toronto, Deloitte, GE, McGill University, HSBC, UBC, Rutgers University, Kraft, and many others.
He chairs several conferences annually including the Campus Recruiting Forums in cities across Canada and the USA; the Canadian Career Development Summit; and, the Strategic Enrolment Marketing & Management Forum. He also speaks regularly at conferences across the US and Canada.
Graham Donald is a firm believer in the value of a general arts education and makes use every day of the skills he developed pursuing a double-major in English and Literary Studies. He received both his BA and MBA from the University of Toronto.
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See what past attendees say about the SEMM Forum.
I am looking forward to the second annual Future Workforce conference! Based on last year’s success, I am even more excited to attend this year and hear how employers and educational institutions pivoted to the virtual world of campus engagement. Joining my colleagues and peers in the school-to-work transition space allows me the opportunity to share, gain knowledge and work towards our shared mission.
Nancy Sammon
Business Relationship Manager, Career Advancement Centre, Smith School of Business, Queen’s University
"The Future Workforce conference really allowed us as a company to make some valuable connections moving forward and partner with institutions we never would have previously. Valuable insights and hearing directly from students are things we will take into consideration moving forward to better improve our strategies."
Jennifer Cruz
Talent Acquisition Specialist, First Capital
“The Future Workforce conference allowed us to further our ambition with RBC Future Launch, by bridging meaningful connections between post-secondary institutions and employers. It was a useful gathering of different types of stakeholders who are trying to better prepare youth for the future of work, who are not normally in one room together. It was helpful to break down silos in discussing solutions. We are looking forward to the next one!”
Cindy Chao
Sr. Manager, Youth Strategy & Innovation, RBC
“Last year I attended the Future Workforce Conference as it was an opportunity for Campus Recruiters and Educators to come together in the same place and share in ideas, resources and best practices. Now, this year, as we all are navigating the uncharted territory of virtual everything – it’s even more crucial to have this platform for us to come together and share in strategies and best practices. I am looking forward to seeing everyone again and meeting new faces throughout the three days!”
Jennifer Husband
Campus Program Manager, Talent Acquisition, QuadReal Property Group
"The excellent selection of speakers from different organizations provided compelling insights into the graduate and early careers talent landscape. In addition, the structure and balance of workshops, panel discussions and networking provided ample opportunities to broaden my knowledge, challenge my thinking and create new relationships (and build on existing ones). I left the conference energized with ideas and thoughts on how we can continue to evolve to meet the expectations of future talent and balance those against the needs of our business."
Mirrick Koh
Program Manager, Internships, Lululemon
Are you an employer who believes that attracting and engaging young talent is critical to the success of their organization? If so, then yes, the Future Workforce conference is right for you. Typical employer participant roles include, but are not limited to: campus recruiters, talent acquisition and development leaders, early talent directors and managers, university & college relations professionals, hiring managers & business leaders.
Are you an educator who seeks to better prepare students for their careers? If so, then yes, the Future Workforce conference is right for you. Typical educator participant roles include but are not limited to: directors of career, cooperative education, and experiential learning offices, managers and professionals involved in employer relations and job development, faculty and department leaders interested in student career development and transitions and student services directors and managers.
The competition for student talent on campus has never been more intense. We know that attracting and developing your future workforce requires innovative thinking, agility, and partnerships between employers and educational institutions. That’s why we are bringing together the employers who hire emerging talent and the educational institutions that develop Canadian youth. Future Workforce facilitates the exchange of ideas, practices, and insights that build better partnerships that lead to brighter outcomes for today’s students and grads.
Together, employers and educators will explore these and other themes:
Depending on your time zone, here are the program start and end times each day:
8:30 AM – 2:00 PM Pacific
9:30 AM – 3:00 PM Mountain
10:30 AM – 4:00 PM Central
11:30 AM – 5:00 PM Eastern
12:30 PM – 6:00 PM Atlantic
You can access this information here. Click the “Read More” link under each topic to view the entire session summary and click the speaker's name to view their biography.
Yes, absolutely, all of the sessions will be recorded and available for registrants to view after the event via the virtual conference platform.
The virtual conference will take place via Pheedloop and the sessions themselves will be hosted via Zoom which integrates seamlessly with Pheedloop.
In 2022, Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc. surveyed more than 20,000 members of Canada’s future workforce – current university and college students – to find out which employers they would most like to work for. The result is the most authoritative ranking of employers published in Canada.
You can find a list of past Top Employers by year here:
Awards will be presented for those employers ranked among the top 25 in the following categories:
You can contact Jennifer Powell, Director of Community Engagement at jennifer@brainstorm.ca with any questions or concerns you may have.
If you’re interested in exhibiting at or sponsoring this year’s Future Workforce conference, please contact Jennifer Powell,
via jennifer@brainstorm.ca to learn about available opportunities.