More than a Job: The People Behind Amrize's Top Employer Recognition
Operations Coordinator with Amrize for nearly four years, Skylar Yanke supports the logistics and field coordination behind Construction Division projects across Greater Calgary.
It's 5:30 in the morning in Calgary, and Skylar Yanke is already moving through her day. In the kitchen, she's helping her son get ready for the bus while answering a quick text. A crew somewhere in the city needs something sorted before the morning shift. She reads the message, makes a call, and keeps things moving. Coffee poured, backpack ready, out the door.
She could have left the call for later. Sometimes she does. But not today.
Before she settles in at her desk, she takes a moment to reset. It’s a small pause that helps her transition to the next phase of her day — a day that began well before she got to the office. Later, it might be a family need that takes precedence over work. The flexibility between personal and professional works because Skylar’s team trusts her to manage her time, and she trusts them in return.
Amrize was recently recognized as a Top Employer for Young People in Canada, a Best Diversity Employer in Canada and a Top Employer in Alberta. The awards reflect something real, but the story behind them shows up in quieter ways: small decisions, everyday moments, and the caring people behind them.
Top Employer for Young People: Starting and growing your career
Mariom Carrasco didn’t need long to find her footing. When she joined Amrize as a maintenance planner at the Bath Cement Plant, she spent her first few weeks moving across departments, learning how the plant operated, and building relationships with the people she’d work alongside every day.
It wasn’t a stretch for her. Growing up in Ecuador, she spent holidays and school breaks at her family's plastics business, surrounded by machines and production lines.
“I think that’s where it started for me,” she says.
Mariom during her early days at Amrize, taking part in one of the company’s learning and development training programs.
Now a mechanical engineer, Mariom moved to Canada three years ago with her husband and their two children, and has kept building her career while settling into a new country. Through one of Amrize’s leadership and development programs, she visited other plants, shared solutions her team had developed at Bath, and brought new approaches back with her. A dashboard her team built is now being rolled out at a corporate level.
The advice she’d give her first-day self hasn’t changed.
“Don’t be afraid or hesitant to ask questions. Always make sure you’re trying to improve the current status of something whenever possible.”
Celest Paez’s role takes her to great heights and deep depths. Here, she stands in front of a tunnel.
Celest Paez works high above the ground on a silo at Amrize’s Richmond Cement plant.
Celest Paez found a similar sense of momentum when she joined the Richmond Cement Plant in 2023 as an engineer-in-training (EIT). Born and raised in Vancouver, she brings both technical curiosity and creativity to her role.
“I’ve always liked to draw,” she says. “I’ve even designed a few logos for our Richmond plant.”
Early on, a conversation with a leader helped set the tone for how she approached everything that followed.
"People's assumptions should never stop you from showing them what you are capable of," she insists.
She carried that through an intensive, multi-month development program that took her to Amrize cement plants across North America, where she worked through real operational challenges alongside experienced teams.
“My favourite part of the program was the opportunity to meet industry experts and learn from their experience and perspectives. It gave me insight into where this role could take me and how I can shape my career path, and it also provided me with a strong support network. The experience truly inspired me to learn and gain confidence in my role.”
Back at Richmond, she kept pushing — spending time with production and maintenance teams to better understand how operations ran beyond her own department.
“I took the initiative to learn from other teams so I could expand my knowledge outside of my own role,” she reflects. “With all these experiences over the last couple of years, my efforts were recognized, and I was recently promoted to process engineer. I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
Top Diversity Employer: What it feels like when your voice counts
For Olayemi, bringing fresh and innovative ideas to the table continues to serve as a catalyst in his professional growth within the company.
Olayemi Sule has held several roles and worked across numerous regions since joining Amrize, starting at the Richmond Cement Plant. Today, he manages capital projects and performance improvement initiatives across Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Outside of work, he's visited 23 countries, with standout trips to Petra in Jordan and the pyramids at Giza. He gardens, shoots photography, and has recently turned his attention to investing and real estate.
What he carries from all of it — the travel, the varied roles, the new places — is an eye for patterns. And the pattern at Amrize has been consistent.
"Each manager and leader I’ve had has genuinely cared, not just about the work, but about my well-being, growth and development," he shares. "That shows up in simple but meaningful ways, like taking the time to check in, giving honest feedback, and creating opportunities for me to take on new challenges."
That sense of consistency began before he even started. The hiring process felt different from others he'd experienced.
“It was a genuine two-way conversation that felt structured, thorough and fair,” he says. “It gave me confidence in the company before I’d even walked through the door.”
That confidence has grown in the years since.
"Day to day, working in an environment that welcomes different backgrounds and perspectives feels empowering. I have seen firsthand how much the company values inclusion, not just in words, but in action. It has created a space where I feel comfortable being myself and confident in contributing across different roles."
Abdul [second from left] alongside members of his team in a quality control lab, where testing is part of the day-to-day work.
Abdul Muzungu joined Amrize during the global pandemic as a quality control (QC) technician based out of the Bearbrook Lab in Ottawa. Nearly five years later, he works across a large territory alongside a team that reflects the diversity of the communities they serve. Of roughly 12 people, the majority have been in Canada for only a few years, each bringing different experiences and perspectives to their work.
Abdul grew up in Kenya and Uganda and moved to Canada 23 years ago. That experience never left him — and it shapes how he shows up for the people around him, both inside and outside of Amrize. He volunteers his time advising newcomers to the construction field, drawing on what those early years taught him.
“The first two years in a new country can make or break you,” he says. “The right advice and resources are really important.”
What keeps him energized at work is similar — the chance to work alongside younger colleagues and pass along professional guidance. The role demands attention to detail and accountability, but it’s the human side he finds most meaningful.
"If someone suggests a better way to do something and it makes sense, we go with it. It doesn't matter who the idea comes from. If it adds value, we move forward — and that makes you feel like your voice actually matters."
"There are people from so many different backgrounds and everyone brings something to the table," he adds. "That's what makes it a fun and great place to be."
Top Employer in Alberta: A company that goes beyond the job
Daniel at the Rangewinds Black History Month event with poet Wakefield Brewster.
Daniel L'Amarca has lived in Calgary his whole life, growing up in the southwest end of the city. He was new to the building materials industry when he joined Amrize's Calgary office, but the people around him made sure he wouldn’t be left to figure it out alone.
"Any worries about being a newcomer quickly disappeared after my first few lunches in the breakroom, as various colleagues from around the office welcomed me to their tables with open arms.”
Colleagues from other departments pulled Daniel in on small tasks, not because they needed the help, but because they wanted him involved.
Outside of work, he plays bass in a band that performs across Calgary and around Canada. Music has been a constant thread through his life, and over the years he’s picked up guitar, drums and piano. In his time at Amrize, his musician’s life hasn’t had to take a back seat.
"I have always been able to get my work done during the week and maintain a healthy work-life balance," he says. "I appreciate the understanding and support for my own endeavors, and I believe my colleagues would all say the same."
Through the office Social Committee, he also helps organize events like the Family Stampede Breakfast at the Pipe plant and the City of Calgary's Pathway and River Cleanup. "It shows our company is more than just a clock-in/clock-out business," he says.
Skylar and her son at last year’s Pipe family breakfast, where his love of big trucks was on full display as he climbed into the Amrize ready-mix trucks.
Skylar Yanke’s day as an operations coordinator in the construction division is continuing in its usual dynamic and unpredictable way. The flexibility to manage her schedule around what matters most is something she doesn't take for granted.
Her son, who is nine years old, has complex medical and special needs. Amrize's benefits coverage has made a measurable difference in his care, supporting the therapies, treatments and medications he depends on.
"I truly don't think he would be where he is developmentally without that support," she states. "I'm very grateful for it."
That support extends beyond benefits. Her manager has built a working relationship grounded in trust — when something comes up, she handles it and knows everything will be sorted when she's back. Outside of work, she volunteers with Special Olympics athletes and mentors students at the University of Calgary, commitments her team genuinely encourages.
The moments that stick with her are the small ones. A colleague who drove her to the mechanic when she needed it. A coworker who showed up with a truck on moving day. A teammate who came back from a trip abroad with a tea blend, knowing she loves a cuppa.
"Amrize feels like a second home. The environment is open and collaborative and there's always conversation happening. Those small, everyday interactions really make a difference at work."
Find Where You Belong
When you’re part of the team at Amrize, there’s a sense of belonging in the day-to-day work.
Every person in this story started somewhere. Mariom on her first morning in a new department. Olayemi in a hiring conversation that finally felt like a real exchange. Skylar in her kitchen, getting her son ready while her workday was already beginning.
What they found, across different roles and different stages of their careers, is a company that pays attention. One that invests in people and then gives them room to grow. Where ideas are embraced and people show up when it counts the most.
The awards recognize all of that. But the people describe something simpler: a place that gets it.
If any part of what you've read sounds like where you want to be, there may be an open role with your name on it.
Meet the Interviewees
Mariom Carrasco
Maintenance Planner
Celest Paez
Process Engineer
Olayemi Sule
Performance Analyst
Abdul Muzungu
Quality Control Technician
Daniel L'Amarca
Sales Coordinator
Skylar Yanke
Operations Coordinator