| |  | People
A supportive work environment
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Employees
At the end of 2008, Imperial employed 4,843 people. Of this total, 26 percent were women,nine percent were visible minorities, two percent were Aboriginal people and one percent had declared a disability. We hired 363 people during the year.
Our goal is to attract and retain the best-quality people and support their success through development opportunities, training and a supportive work environment.
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Total employment offer
The long-term, strategic nature of our business shapes our approach to attracting and retaining employees. Our total employment offer is carefully designed both to attract new recruits and encourage long-service employees to continue with Imperial, benefiting the company with the knowledge they have built up over their careers.
This employment offer includes competitive compensation and benefits, with salaries that are benchmarked against top-tier Canadian companies. Our pension plan is fully company paid and, in conjunction with our matching savings plans, offers different options. We also provide personal development and training, paid education assistance and flexible work schedules. Other programs, such as our employee assistance program, which provides for the emotional needs of employees and their families, help to support additional facets of employees’ well-being.
In 2008, we continued to maintain a robust compensation budget, paying $1 billion in compensation and benefits to employees.
Recruitment
Through our recruitment programs, our aim is to attract the most capable university and technical college graduates and experienced professionals.
| We participate in career fairs and information sessions at more than 12 universities across Canada. We also offer a well-developed summer student, co-op and internship program, which provides students with challenging projects, enabling them to apply their academic knowledge in real work settings. In 2008, intern and co-op assignments were provided to 134 university students. During the year, we hired more than 100 new university graduates.
To help with recruitment, our operations support apprenticeships and technical career training programs at local colleges. Strathcona refinery, for example, has a well-established relationship with the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in Edmonton. Refinery employees participate in career fairs and on technical advisory panels to provide feedback on curriculum development. The refinery also employs summer and co-op students from NAIT each year to work in different technical roles.
Networks
Employee networks at Imperial provide mentoring and coaching opportunities. Among a number of mentoring initiatives is the Network Advisor Program, through which newly hired employees meet managers and longer service employees to learn about the company and various career options.
Networks have also been established to support female workers throughout their careers. The Women’s Professional Engineer, Geoscientist and Scientist Network encourages mentorship between senior and junior professionals in the resources business. The Women in Wage program provides support and networking opportunities for female employees working in non-traditional jobs in the Upstream – for example, as field or plant operators or instrument technicians.
In addition, an Imperial Native Network has been established at the Cold Lake operation with employees of Aboriginal descent to raise awareness about Aboriginal people and to create stronger relationships with local Aboriginal communities. Network members act as mentors to participants in the operation’s Native Internship Program, which provides paid on-the-job training for Aboriginal people for up to two years.
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