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Magellan soars with training and community giving

Ron Drepaul’s first job with Magellan Aerospace, Winnipeg was on the shop floor, cleaning parts using a vapour degreaser. It was 1988 and he was 22 years old. Within half a year, he moved up into an hourly staff position. Today, 37 years later and after progressing through many different roles in different departments and functions, Drepaul is the general manager for Magellan’s Winnipeg site.

Magellan Aerospace is a global company that designs, engineers and manufactures aeroengine and aerostructure components for the aerospace, space and military markets. It has 3,200 employees worldwide, with 600 in Winnipeg, where company employees build everything from complex aircraft assemblies to satellite buses.

As Drepaul advanced through the many steps of his career with Magellan, he took advantage of training opportunities, both internal and external. For instance, he obtained a certificate of management, which he completed with support from his employer and which augmented a Red River College Polytechnic business certificate he already had when he first joined.

Magellan highlights the opportunities for people to get training, including from external institutions, Drepaul says. “We also offer internal training, whether it’s on-the-job training or courses that people take internally. In addition, we have some very simple but powerful lunch-and-learn events where people learn what other functions are doing.”

From a management perspective, an important rationale for providing training is to develop and nourish the talent pipeline, Drepaul says. “Bringing talented people into the organization is something we’re always thinking about. We also recognize that there’s something powerful about promoting from within.”

Drepaul acknowledges that his experience of working for one company throughout an entire career is unusual today. “We’re now dealing with a culture where individuals are looking to move to grow their careers,” he notes. “By encouraging staff to try out new roles or different functions within the company, people have a chance to experience job growth without leaving Magellan.”

Drepaul also acknowledges that for a major employer in Winnipeg, it is important to give back to the community. “We have a lot available to us, in training and moving forward in our career. We’re blessed to have the jobs that we have. Others don’t have that.”

Magellan’s focus on and encouragement of community involvement resonates with Dawn Madden, program manager for aerostructures. Soon after she was hired in 2021, Madden joined the company’s Social and Welfare Committee. Her initial goal largely was to connect with and get to know her new colleagues. But what she really got was a “good sense of the real importance of community involvement to Magellan,” she says, adding that there are many different opportunities to get involved.

Madden recently helped children of military families shop for presents for their parents and siblings. She also helped cook a meal for families staying at the Ronald McDonald House.

One of the most fun events was staffing the table at a science rendezvous event at the University of Manitoba. “We showed kids how to make paper rockets, because that’s one of the things that we do here,” Madden explains. “It was really fun to see the kids get excited about science.”

Madden says these volunteer activities enrich her work life and make her feel proud of her employer. “I’m grateful to work somewhere that cares about community involvement and gives me the opportunity and support to get involved,” she says. “It’s about community. It’s all about everybody taking care of each other.”