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Tuesday, May 31, 2022
By: Krista Henry (she/her)
As online gaming evolves and grows, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) is winning the talent jackpot with the help of co-op students from the University of Waterloo.
Before the global pandemic, OLG began developing and innovating digital gaming to deliver the best new gaming experiences to the market. This digital transformation is part of OLG’s current strategy to counter the impacts of the open regulated iGaming marketplace that came into effect April 2022. As an agency of the provincial government, OLG wants to remain competitive in this newly opened iGaming marketplace. This way the corporation can invest 100 percent of their profits into provincial priorities to help Ontarians.
“We are in traditional land-based gaming for lottery, charitable gaming, casinos and horse racing, and we are expanding our digital gaming offering as well,” says Jennifer Edgar (she/her), director of talent acquisition and employee programs at OLG. “This growing element of our organization is an exciting opportunity for students.”
OLG keeps adding new games to improve its online offerings and enable mobile responsiveness. To keep pace with industry trends, the corporation is both upskilling their current team and bringing in new graduates and co-op students.
“Separate from the hands-on experience of working in this exciting industry, students also have access to learning resources,” says Edgar. “We are hopeful that they will grow their skills in their craft and trade and have the potential to begin a career with us. Our culture supports students because we love having them.”
Beyond working with the digital team OLG, co-op students also have roles in customer care, finance human resources and administration.
Jennifer Edgar (she/her)
Director of talent acquisition and employee programs at OLG
An avenue to great talent
Co-op students have been instrumental to the organization by helping to fill talent gaps and work on upcoming projects. Waterloo’s co-op students and recent grads give the corporation valuable insights and quality talent.
Waterloo has programs which are aligned to our talent needs. We’ve found Waterloo students are really good. They are prepared for the interviews and for working in the corporate environment. We know that at Waterloo we have great talent coming our way.
- MEGHAYU DAVE (HE/HIM), SENIOR MANAGER, TALENT AQUISITIONS
AND BRAND AT OLG
At OLG, students work in a digital environment with a range of experienced team members from product owners to analysts, customer researchers and developers.
“It's a great opportunity for people who get involved to do hands on work, where they're empowered and they're creating actual products that you're going to see in market,” says Edgar. “The whole digital world is advancing with iLottery, iCasino and sports betting platforms—so there are many exciting opportunities.”
Values-oriented environment
Meghayu Dave (he/him)
Senior manager, talent acquisitions and brand at OLG
As well as the benefits of exciting new roles, OLG offers students with a values-focused environment that is focused on social corporate responsibility. OLG reinvests all its profits in Ontario. Since 1975 OLG has provided approximately $55 billion to the province.
“We are a people’s organization, which means we are very helpful, collaborative and want to learn from each other,” says Dave. “We also focus on giving back so when you work here you make a difference.”
OLG is always looking for students in areas such as lottery and customer care, finance and enterprise analytics, digital enterprise strategy, enterprise technology, risk and audit as well as people and culture.