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Employees at Manitoba Hydro take pride in service

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This article was published 12/03/2024 (557 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Lindsay Melvin worked as a summer student at Manitoba Hydro after her first year of university. She joined the engineering-in-training (EIT) program and quickly found a permanent position as a system modelling engineer after graduate school. Nineteen years later, she is a director of integrated resource planning.

Melvin had a placement every summer during university, and then Manitoba Hydro provided a stipend while she completed her MSc in engineering on a project related to the corporation. “Working here offers such a breadth of opportunity, and people are patient and generous throughout,” says Melvin. “It’s not just how collaboratively Manitoba Hydro employees work together – we’re also passionate about the benefit we provide.”

Manitoba Hydro is a provincial Crown corporation and one of the largest integrated electricity and natural gas distribution utilities in Canada. The corporation has its head office in Winnipeg with facilities and operations throughout the province.

“It all boils down to serving Manitobans,” says director of talent Jonathan Ryman. “We provide energy to every corner of the province, and our employees are also our customers.”

Manitoba Hydro provides a variety of development programs, from over 250 annual summer student and co-op placements to paid technical and trades-related training programs. Pre-placement programs for Indigenous Peoples and women offer paid academic upgrading and work experience to address systemic barriers.

And Ryman says the corporation has a charitable presence in the communities it serves, providing close to $450,000 to sponsor events. My Charity, a voluntary employee deduction plan, provides another $500,000 in pledges from employees – which are matched by the corporation. Employees are active volunteers in their communities both in events, such as the annual Manitoba Hydro Santa Claus Parade, or in their own activities as Employee Champions.

Melvin volunteers with Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba, which governs and regulates the practice of professional engineering and professional geoscience in Manitoba.

“Manitoba Hydro is one of the largest employers of engineers in the province, so it makes sense for us to support the volunteers required for the self-regulation of the profession,” she says. “I was president for a year and it really influenced my development as a manager, not to mention my understanding of the evolution of skills in engineering.”

Melvin also honed her leadership skills by taking a part-time MBA. Ten years after graduating as an engineer, Melvin credits her ability to take on the MBA program to the flexibility she was afforded at work. “I still got my work done, but I was able to take a vacation day if I needed it for class or study time,” says Melvin.

Since starting as a summer student, Melvin has had the opportunity to move through different areas of the corporation. A benefit of the integrated utility is that she can work with both gas and electricity, and from generation to transmission to distribution – all without leaving Manitoba Hydro.

“It’s so hard to move from any area because of the fantastic people you meet,” says Melvin. “But I’ve learned so much. I’ve benefited from a broad systems view where I get to understand how the pieces interact.”

Melvin finds that she can reach out across the organization to gain the benefit of someone else’s experience. And she is always excited to help out when a colleague reaches out to her. “The more we learn about how everything fits together, the better,” she says.

When asked why he came to Manitoba Hydro, Ryman says he welcomed the opportunity to serve the community. “I noticed in a very short time that people here are open and supportive, with a sense of pride in giving back,” he says.