Anticipating change and innovating are daily practices at Bell Canada. To remain at the forefront of the communications industry, the company relies on its team of more than 50,000 to continue to learn, adapt and bring new ideas to the table.
With a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Polytechnique Montréal, Axel NtakaburimvoNdayiragije was eager to continue learning and saw an opportunity to do it in Bell’s award-winning He wasn’t disappointed. In his first three years with Bell, NtakaburimvoNdayiragije held five different positions in areas ranging from field operations to data analysis.
“There is no shortage in the variety of career opportunities at Bell,” says Nikki Moffat, Bell’s senior vice-president, human resources. “You can immerse yourself in dynamic, innovative work that makes a difference in how Canadians connect with each other and the world.”
The company focuses on recruiting a diverse team that strives to innovate and enrich experiences for customers. Students begin their careers through internships, co-op placements and the graduate leadership program, which provide experience in fields such as network, business intelligence, marketing, applied tech, finance and media.
As one of Canada’s largest employers, Bell has a strong focus on engagement, reflected in programs supporting diversity, equity and inclusion, continuous learning, and workplace mental health initiatives like Bell Let’s Talk.
After attending a panel discussion during Black History Month, Ntakaburimvo-Ndayiragije was inspired to join Black Professionals at Bell (BPB), an employee resource group founded in 2018.
Now the group’s project management lead, NtakaburimvoNdayiragije says, “BPB works to raise cultural awareness across the company, engage talent in Black communities and support team members’ professional development.”
BPB’s activities are just one example of the company’s ongoing efforts to align its business strategy and human resources policies with its diversity, equity and inclusion goals, under the direction of its Diversity Leadership Council, made up of senior leaders.
Bell continues to partner with diversity, equity and inclusion-focused organizations to offer team members access to events, professional development resources and more. Bell also launched an online collaboration community to increase engagement on all inclusion topics among team members across the country.
“Inclusion is critical to Bell’s success,” says Moffat, a winner of a Women in Communications and Technology Leader award as a role model and diversity champion in the communications and finance sectors. “In fostering an inclusive and accessible workplace, we welcome diverse and unique ideas, which help us to continue to grow in all parts of our business.”
As part of its inclusion and career growth strategy, Bell encourages team members to pursue new roles. The strategy aims to prepare, inspire and transform the company’s workforce by engaging team members to build their skills and reach their career goals through purposeful, continuous and inclusive learning.
Launched in 2020, Bell U is “one of a variety of resources and learning opportunities available to team members to grow and expand their careers,” says Moffat.
The company offers a number of upskilling programs through Bell U to empower individuals to develop relevant skills in the flow of work and own their career development in a social and collaborative way, she says.
