Serco Canada wins award for Gender and Diversity Excellence at 5 Wing Goose Bay

Our people | Our world 2021

Serco Canada was named one of Atlantic Canada’s Top Employers for 2022, a title the company has earned for six consecutive years. Now in its 13th year, this annual competition recognises those employers who lead their industries in offering exceptional places to work.

“This designation is the culmination of years of dedication and commitment to our employees,” says Natasha McLean, Vice President of Serco Canada Services. “Our teams have worked hard to identify and implement policies and programs that resonate with our people. And our employees work hard to bring Serco’s policies and employee programs to life every day, making Serco a wonderful and fulfilling place to work”.

Serco Canada has also been recognised recently for ‘Gender and Diversity Excellence’ by the Atlantic Canada Aerospace and Defence Association (ACADA). This award is reserved for those companies demonstrating excellence in gender balance and increasing diversity within corporate structures and across supply chains, thereby leveraging a full pool of talent for building sector capability.

“ACADA could not be prouder of these member companies being recognized for their achievements,” said Carl Kumpic, Chair of ACADA. “Serco Canada has proudly demonstrated exemplary gender and diversity excellence as the Department of National Defence’s site support services contractor at 5 Wing Goose Bay. Today, they are proud to declare a 40% Indigenous employment rate and have awarded more than $15.6 million of business to homegrown Indigenous firms.”

5 Wing Goose Bay is in central Labrador, a beautiful yet isolated area that is home to three Indigenous groups: the Inuit, Innu, and Metis. Serco’s service delivery covers a wide range of operational requirements. Hiring from the local community, with a focus on indigenous people and women, has been core to Serco’s strategy to attract and retain the talent needed to ensure strong service continuity.

“We focus on generating social benefits for our local communities through positive business practices,” says Scott Ross, Serco Site Manager at Goose Bay. “Our operational model maximizes financial value for government and tax payers through cost effective and efficient processes, underpinned by workforce, supply chain and local community programs that broaden and strengthen both our service outcomes and our social value impact.”

22 years ago, Serco embraced 5 Wing’s Inuktitut motto SuliaKaKatigejut (meaning ‘working together’) as a guiding principle for its operations at Goose Bay. Today, that approach – purposefully and seamlessly combining Western and Indigenous norms, and embedded in succession planning, on-the-job training, apprenticeship opportunities, school visits, scholarships, mentoring, community outreach, and Indigenous partnerships – has helped achieve their gender and diversity excellence. Serco’s six-person senior management team at Goose Bay, originally only Caucasian males, now comprises three men (of whom one is Indigenous) and three women (of whom two are Indigenous).

The role of Vice President, Serco Canada is also now held by an Indigenous woman from Labrador, Natasha McLean, who said: “Strength through diversity is one of Serco’s core tenets – our success depends on our people. Our main purpose is to be a trusted partner of governments, delivering superb public services that transform outcomes and make a positive difference to our fellow citizens. To be able do this, we need to understand them, which is why we see differences as strengths. Our Goose Bay team, and every team at Serco, reflects the communities in which we work. We have fostered an environment where our entire team is encouraged to bring their whole selves to work. We welcome a rich fabric of energies, ideas, cultures, genders, backgrounds and passions. Diversity and inclusion inform our core Values and are near and dear to my heart.”