Thorunn Howatt
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Dec 19/01) - BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc. was selected as one of the country's best companies to work for in Mediacorp Canada Inc.'s publication geared toward job hunters and head hunters.

"I'd like to think we already have the best and the brightest but certainly this will go a long way toward hiring exceptional people," said BHP Billiton spokesperson Denise Burlingame. A year ago the diamond company was invited to participate in a survey that would result in the selection of the top workplaces for inclusion in the 2002 edition of Canada's Top Employers. The publication describes BHP Billiton's company benefits package, work rotation, voluntary workplace literacy program and diamond purchase plan for employees.

"Our turnover is less than seven per cent. It's low for mining. It's certainly low for the North," said Burlingame.

The 364-page book was released last week and provides a catalogue for job-seekers, human resource specialists and corporate executives.

"Only one employer in this book offers employees the chance to see the aurora borealis from their workplace and endless days of radiant sunshine in the summer," said the book's publisher.

"A few years ago we decided to build a showcase book where we could profile 100 companies from a variety of industries and try and find the leaders in the particular industries," said the book's editor Richard Yerema.

"The Top 100 book is really a way to showcase industries to say, 'What would it be like to work at a mine in Yellowknife? What do these people get? Why do they work there? What does it look like inside the building?'" he said.