Technip Canada Limited

Location: St. John’s, N.L.
Number of employees: 113
Who are they: a provider of project management, engineering and construction services for energy and oil and gas industries.
What makes them great: financial benefits including referral bonuses for some positions, generous year-end bonuses, a share purchase plan as well as matching RSP contributions; support new mothers with maternity top-up payments (to 100 per cent for 24 weeks) as well as a health benefits plan that extends into retirement; new employees get three weeks of paid vacation, increasing to a maximum of five weeks for its longest-serving employees; tuition subsidies for courses at outside institutions, as well as in-house and online training programs.

Trihedral Engineering Limited

Location: Bedford, N.S.
Number of employees: 38
Who are they: developer of proprietary monitoring and control software applications used in a variety of industrial applications, including water and wasterwater treatment, oil and gas, manufacturing, power generation, broadcasting, food and beverage, marine, flood control, and airport baggage handling applications.
What makes them great: relaxed work environment, allowing employees to listen to music while working and bring their pets to work when needed; company-wide share purchase plan; tuition subsidies for job-related courses, in-house training programs and subsidies for professional accreditation; new employees get personal paid days off plus three weeks of paid vacation allowance; health plan provides full coverage to employees’ family members as well as yearend performance bonuses.

Ultra Electronics Maritime Systems

Location: Dartmouth, N.S.
Number of employees: 153
Who are they: defense electronics manufacturer.
What makes them great: profit-sharing and share purchase plan available to all employees; new mothers, fathers and adoptive parents receive parental leave top up payments (to 100 per cent of salary for two weeks) and adoptive parents offered subsidies to help cover the cost of adoption (to $2,000 per child); tuition subsidies for job-related courses, online training programs and subsidies for professional accreditation; academic scholarship program for children of employees who pursue post-secondary education (to $1,500 per child); retirement planning assistance and contributions to a matching RSP plan (to 2.5 per cent of salary).

Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia

Location: Halifax, N.S.
Number of employees: 394
Who are they: promoter of safe work practices and the provision of fair benefits to workers.
What makes them great: variety of alternative work arrangements, including flexible hours, telecommuting, and a formal earned days-off program; new mothers, fathers and adoptive parents receive parental leave top-up payments (to 93 per cent of salary for 17 weeks) and allows parental leave to be extended into an unpaid leave of absence; tuition subsidies for work-related courses, in-house and online training programs, mentoring, and career planning services; academic scholarship program; retirement planning workshops, contributions to a defined benefit pension plan, and health benefits that extend into retirement, with no age limit.