While the Encana name is only a decade old, the company’s emergence has been a long time in the making. The company was formed in 2002, with the merger of the PanCanadian Energy Corporation and Alberta Energy Company Ltd. From the lineage of those two companies a path can be traced back to momentous times in Canadian history. Back in the days just after the CP railroad was founded, a company crew discovered natural gas in Alberta in 1883, leading to the creation of a company for extracting the resource, which was a precursor to the resource companies of today generally and Encana specifically. It’s an involved and nuanced story, but suffice it to say that the seeds of Encana were sewn over 100 years ago.

Why Encana is different

Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Encana is a significant North American energy producer, and one of the largest producers of natural gas in Canada. With strong concentrations in Alberta and northern B.C., the company’s assets in Canada include gas wells and coal bed methane extraction operations, and most recently an offshore natural gas extraction and processing operation called Deep Panuke. Located just off the coast of Nova Scotia close to Halifax, the offshore project will involve a subsea pipeline that will transport the gas. The operation expects to start producing later this year.

In the U.S., operations are located in various regions, including Wyoming, Colorado, Michigan, and Texas, with more developments in the works. In addition to their resource extraction and processing facilities, Encana also operates six compressed natural gas fuelling stations in the U.S. and Canada.

Encana actively recruits in order to fuel the company’s growth, and they spend a great deal of time on recruiting young blood into the organization. 

“We have a unique summer student and new grad program,” says Shelley Lausberg, the company’s Lead in Campus Relations. “We go to around 12 different schools and do campus fairs, interview students, and develop relationships with them.” 

Why you’ll love Encana

Part of that development involves programs designed to illustrate to students the big picture of what Encana represents and the individual’s place in it. 

“In our new grad program, we put [students] through different job rotations throughout their term,” says Laubserg. “Depending on their discipline, for about 12 to 18 months, they’ll go into different resource plays, into different business units, and work under different leadership.” This varied job experience can make a big difference when it comes down to define a student’s future career. “When they are done seeing the varied parts of the company, they can choose what path they want to take going forward,” says Lausberg.

Moreover, new employees are given multi-faceted support upon joining the company, including access to learning opportunities. There are various areas of training offered at Encana to inspire a well-rounded understanding of the business 

“In addition to job rotation, we also offer continuing education assistance, career development opportunities, and orientation,” says Lausberg. “We offer business acumen training, which can include regulatory safety, financial evaluations, and personal effectiveness training.” 

How to apply

For interested job seekers, Lausberg points to the company website’s careers section as a vital resource. “We post all of our student positions on the website and we hire almost all of our new grads out of our student pool,” she says, explaining the importance of signing up for the summer student program. “Once a student is in our system, working for the summer, it gives them the chance to get hired on.”

For the full list of Canada's top employers for young people, click here.