A member of the leadership team at Caltrax presents to students at a local school.Supplied
After working in customer service for 10 years, Dakota Meggitt decided a major career change was in order. She entered a program that trains women in various trades with the thought that she might like to be an electrician. By the end of the program in 2024, she’d opted to become a welder and landed a job with Caltrax Inc.
Based in Calgary and the only independent firm of its kind in Western Canada, Caltrax offers a full scope of independent repair service for all types of railcars. Over the last four years, Caltrax — along with its 165 employees — has been undergoing its own major transformation.
“We told ourselves that we don’t want to just be an organization focused on dollars, and that the best way for us to be successful is through our people,” says Adam De Groot, vice-president of freight operations. De Groot was hired in January 2022 with the mandate to turn around the then-financially struggling company.
“The priority was the safety of our people,” De Groot says. “It wasn’t easy. We’re in the rail industry; we do rough, hard work. But we made some very difficult decisions. We held a hard standard on expectations around workplace security and safety, harassment, and drug and alcohol use.”
Caltrax introduced a dramatically improved pay scale and created a bonus structure that shares corporate profits. Compensation was expanded from simply rewarding the traditional elements of time and experience to also providing incentives to pursue training and development opportunities. In addition, sick pay, referral benefits and other perks were introduced.
“We try to give everyone a fair opportunity to make sure that they have good work-life balance,” De Groot says. “A big factor to our success is our workforce. Our workforce is here not just because they want a job. They are here for their career.”
He adds that Caltrax wants hired staff to stay until retirement. “We don’t hire and fire. We would rather run a lean team and offer people overtime if we need to,” he says. “We are dedicated to proactive sales and operational planning to ensure steady and consistent workflow for our workforce.”
Meggitt, identified by her employer as an “up and comer,” recently took advantage of Caltrax’s development incentives to take the first-year welding apprenticeship program at Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. The program was fully paid by Caltrax and — upon completion of the program — Meggitt received full top-up pay. Currently, she is being trained in-house to become a tank car qualifier. Depending on the availability of the courses and her fulfilling the required hours, this work can be completed in one to two years.
“They see something in me, and they want me to succeed,” Meggitt says, adding she’d never had that sort of support in past jobs. “Having that support here at Caltrax makes me feel good about my work and about my career. It’s been an incredible experience.”
Meggitt admits that she initially felt nervous about working in a traditionally male-occupied workforce. But she says she’s felt welcome at Caltrax from the start. “The people are great and the place is great. I’m challenged in a positive way every day. I feel fulfilled for the first time in my career.”
Meggitt wants to share a message for women who are considering a career in the trades: “It’s important for more women to come into this industry and further their careers. Persistence and patience with yourself is important. But you shouldn’t be afraid to take the leap.”
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Advertising feature produced by Canada’s Top 100 Employers, a division of Mediacorp Canada Inc. The Globe and Mail’s editorial department was not involved.