“We do have a labour market shortage,” said Trade Minister Jeremy Harrison. “”It’s an issue that we need to take on straight away.”
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Saskatchewan revealed a new labour force strategy, though officials at the Monday announcement offered little detail on specific targets the plan intends to meet.
Provincial representatives on Monday, including Premier Scott Moe and Minister of Trade and Export Development Jeremy Harrison, said the strategy aims to meet economic growth with “a road map” for provision of a matching labour supply.
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“The people that live here today, in this province, should always have the first chance to benefit from the opportunities that our growing economy presents, and that’s paramount,” said Moe.
The strategy, called Building the Workforce for a Growing Economy, intends to help achieve a provincial goal of creating 100,000 more jobs by 2030, and keep pace with Saskatchewan’s projected GDP growth into the future.
“The number one economic challenge that we have, and it’s a good one to have but it’s a challenge, is the fact that we do have a labour market shortage,” said Harrison.
“It’s an issue that we need to take on straight away, and that’s what really this is about. This is about building a strong economy and a strong and bright future.”
The strategy itself largely outlines provincial investment already made over the last year into industry partnerships, education programs and employment services targeting market needs in agriculture, mining and more.
Details of the Health Human Resources Plan, launched in 2022 to resolve staffing shortages inside the health system, are also listed.
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Moe said the forward-thinking elements are broken down in three pillars: training, recognizing certifications and recruitment.
Actions promised include training programs for Indigenous people and increasing opportunities for persons with disabilities to find employment.
Investment into post-secondary education is also named, as are retention strategies to keep new grads and internationally trained residents in-province.
“Our province is investing in a very innovative retention program to ensure that,” he said.
Harrison touted the Labour, Mobility and Fair Registration Practices Act, passed two years ago in April 2022, which outlined structured timelines for regulators to respond to a certification request.
What appears to be the only new initiative announced as part of the strategy is a pledge to create a credential recognition service offering one-on-one direction for clients to navigate Saskatchewan’s process and regulators, to be coming soon.
Harrison said the legislation has Saskatchewan “leading Canada” in such work, and the coming liaison service will also be a first in the nation.
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Efforts to recruit international skilled workers will also continue, through the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) and the province’s network of international trade offices.
Approval to expand SINP was approved in November, allowing an additional 8,000 nominees in 2024, for a total 25,000 people to arrive in Saskatchewan in the next year.
A recent report from Statistics Canada showed Saskatchewan has significantly declining immigrant retention, with the one-year rate in 2020 at 64 per cent.
Long-term, the 2016 retention rate was 57 per cent, down from 72 per cent five years earlier in 2012.
Harrison has undertaken several trade missions overseas in the last year, including to Poland, alongside Saskatchewan employers seeking to entice SINP applicants in the work stream.
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