People
DCC's priorities towards people reflect our commitments to increasing Indigenous representation in our workforce and to providing our employees with opportunities to grow their skills and knowledge.
We are emphasizing building relationships with Indigenous communities, Friendship centres, Indigenous employment agencies and Indigenous resource centres at Canadian post-secondary institutions, to raise awareness of employment opportunities with DCC.
Defence Construction Canada Indspire Bursary
"DCC is proud to participate in this program to support the next generation of professionals in our industry. Indspire helps ensure that Indigenous students are prepared for the jobs of the future."
- Derrick Cheung, President and CEO.
In addition to providing work experiences, we are partnering with Indspire—a national Indigenous charity that invests in the education of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people—to offer the DCC Indigenous Bursary Program. Since 2022, DCC has awarded two bursaries each year, worth $2,500 each, to Indigenous post-secondary students pursuing qualifications in engineering, planning, environmental sciences, construction, information technology and finance. In 2024, we awarded bursaries to students in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Hayden Gendall
2025 bursary recipient Hayden Gendall is a member of the Métis Nation-Saskatchewan and is studying civil engineering at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. With a strong interest in project management, Hayden was pleased to learn about the wide range of projects DCC works on and says he can see himself applying for a summer or full-time position with DCC in the future.
Keagan Short
A member of the Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation of Newfoundland, 2025 bursary recipient Keagan Short is pursuing a degree in electrical engineering at the University of Alberta. With his love of the outdoors, he hopes to enter a career in the renewable energy sector after graduation.
National Indigenous Youth Work Experience Program
Young people are the future of our business, and we’re pleased to support the next generation by offering young Indigenous people meaningful mentorship and work experiences at sites and offices across the country. Through our National Indigenous Youth Work Experience Program and our National Student Program, successful candidates are supervised and mentored in a high-performing environment offering valuable office and field experience.
In 2024-25, DCC hired 13 Indigenous students and bridged one Indigenous student into a permanent role.
Learning
At DCC we are making sure that employees have opportunities to gain knowledge about Indigenous cultures and histories, and to build intercultural competencies. All DCC employees complete NVision's The Path: Your Journey Through Indigenous Canada within 12 months of hiring. All members of the Board of Directors and the Executive Management Group complete this comprehensive course.