Parliamentary Secretary announces youth funding in Saskatoon

This morning, Dr. Kellie Leitch, Parliamentary Secretary to Human Resources and Skills Development Minister Diane Finley, was in our Saskatoon offices to announce that the federal government was launching Calls for Proposals to deliver $50 million in funding for the Youth Employment Strategy.

STEC Manager of HR Development Darcy Acton,
Parliamentary Secretary Dr. Kellie Leitch, and
Tourism Saskatchewan Industry Development
Manager Ian McGilp pose for a photo following
Wednesday's announcement in Saskatoon.
(Photo: Service Canada)

We were happy to be part of today's announcement. STEC has been helping our province’s tourism and hospitality employers recruit, train and retain a professional, skilled workforce for more than 20 years.

For most of that time, Ready To Work – Tourism Careers has been an important component of our service delivery.

Since 1994, more than 40 communities and three thousand youth have participated in Ready to Work in Saskatchewan.

Graduates have found long-term rewarding careers, returned to school, and moved from front-line to supervisory positions.

In fact, of the 300 participants who went through the program last year, 80 per cent are still employed.

We're able to get those remarkable results because of the support we receive from federal programs such as those announced today, as well at the valuable support we receive from our provincial and community partners.

That support makes it possible for people from under-represented groups to make the transition from unemployment or under-employment to the workforce. In addition to tourism, a valuable contributor to our provincial economy, participants also find work in mining and other significant economic sectors.

We currently have four RTW projects running in Saskatchewan: Saskatoon, Lloydminster, Regina, and La Ronge.

Think about tourism careers during Saskatchewan Tourism Week

Shearwater Tours,
Saskatoon

During an economic boom like the one Saskatchewan's experiencing, a lot of employers have trouble finding qualified workers. But right now, all across Canada, tourism employers are feeling the pinch of a national labour shortage. So, combine our boom with with a national labour shortage of tourism workers, right at the start of the busy summer tourism season, and you can see that tourism businesses in our province are going to have a really tough time finding workers.

Already, we're projecting a shortfall of about 1,600 people to fill tourism jobs this year. That demand for workers is only going to get worse, because travel and visitor spending is increasing faster than other consumer purchases, meaning even more tourism work for fewer tourism workers. For workers, this is a great time to be in tourism, because you can basically write your own ticket to a job.

That doesn't mean the work is easy - far from it, because international competition for travellers and customer expectations for service have never been higher - but there is no better time to find rewarding work and careers in tourism, especially in Saskatchewan. Take a gander over at our sister Saskatchewan Tourism Saskatchewan Facebook page or the Tourism Saskatchewan website to see everything that our province has for visitors. Our tourism businesses are among the best you'll find anywhere (they have to be, because people are able and willing to travel anywhere to get the experiences they want).

So, while things are looking pretty rosy for workers, businesses have to offer not only the kinds of experiences that can attract ever-more-discerning customers, but also nurture the kinds of workplaces that attract and keep the best employees. That's a tough challenge for everyone, and no business is in a position to be able to meet that challenge alone. We all have to pull together to develop a qualified and motivated tourism workforce, a workforce that's well trained and well rewarded for the contribution that everyone makes to our economy.