Our airport creates about 49,000 direct jobs and supports the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people across the region – and that total is projected to reach 700,000 over the next two decades. We also help to grow employment nationwide by linking Canadian firms with markets, partners and investors around the globe.
We’re in the Zone
Toronto Pearson sits at the heart of the Airport Employment Zone (AEZ), where more than 300,000 people work for a wide range of commercial and industrial enterprises. The second-largest employment cluster in Canada after downtown Toronto, the AEZ spans an area of about 15,000 hectares where three fast-growing municipalities intersect. Businesses that see the value of being close to our airport – from hotels to freight forwarders to global corporations – already generate significant employment and economic growth. That impact will only grow as municipal and regional planners coordinate their efforts to foster a broader range of employment opportunities in the AEZ, from office-based management and research to logistics, light industry and utilities.
As detailed in our 2017–2037 Master Plan, the GTAA is working with government policymakers to encourage higher-density employment and develop desperately needed transit connections in the AEZ while helping to build a more complete and sustainable community. Over the past year, we joined fellow members of the AEZ Coalition – including most of the area’s key employers and property owners – to advocate for improved transit access through social media, letters of support, and various community outreach and stakeholder events.
In the past, the sheer complexity of the area around Toronto Pearson – sprawling, multi-jurisdictional, with mixed land uses and layers of overlapping infrastructure – made it difficult to define as a distinct area for coordinated planning. That’s changing. The communities of the western GTA are working together to build on the zone’s economic vitality and global connectivity, mapping out a strategy that benefits all jurisdictions. In the year ahead, we’ll continue to actively engage with the provincial and municipal governments, AEZ Coalition members and all interested stakeholders to help advance our shared goals.
95% of AEZ employees drive to work, making over a million trips daily. The result: more traffic jams, higher carbon emissions and a lot of unhealthy stress. The proposed regional transit centre at Toronto Pearson will help to alleviate this – while moving passengers more conveniently to and from our airport.
Photo: Woodbine Entertainment/Michael Burns
Tapping into Local Talent
Contributing to the tens of thousands of jobs that Toronto Pearson creates, the GTAA employs approximately 1,600 people in operational, technical, administrative and management roles.
We’re fortunate to have a rich and diverse talent pool at our doorstep, and we make deliberate efforts to draw from this pool when hiring. We start by nurturing relationships with local community organizations that can connect us with qualified job candidates from diverse backgrounds.
In 2017, we provided financial support to ACCES Employment through Toronto Pearson’s Propeller Project and participated in one of the initiative’s highly attended job fairs, which target skilled professionals and newcomers to Canada. We also participated in the local YMCA’s annual job fair, as well as the Mayor’s Youth Employment Expo in the City of Mississauga.
In addition, we developed relationships with Peel Multicultural Council, JVS Toronto, the Centre for Skills Development & Training, Careers in Aviation and numerous post-secondary institutions. We also continued to participate in the Military Employment Transition program.
In 2017, we deepened our commitment to developing “talent pipelines” by launching two new initiatives: we hired 19 university students into GTAA business units as part of a co-op program, and we welcomed five aspiring tradespeople into our new apprenticeship program. These programs are designed to provide young people with the skills and experience they’ll need to succeed in their chosen careers – along with a taste of what it’s like to work at Toronto Pearson.
- 103-2
Learn more about how we help our communities prosper and grow
Job creation. Better transit connections. Building stronger communities. And listening closely to our stakeholders as we balance competing priorities. It all comes down to getting everyone moving better.