Released on September 23, 2013
Skills training and labour market agreements will be the focus of a meeting of the Provincial and Territorial Forum of Labour Market Ministers on September 24 in Toronto. Economy Minister Bill Boyd will be attending the event and bringing a number of Saskatchewan labour market topics to the table.
“This meeting builds upon discussions that Premier Wall had with his counterparts this past summer on the topics of labour market agreements and skills training,” Boyd said. “It’s vital that we continue to add our voice to this dialogue and push for effective ways to respond to Saskatchewan’s labour market needs.”
Saskatchewan’s labour market remains one of the strongest in Canada, with the lowest unemployment rate of all the provinces at 4.2 per cent. While Canada is averaging about six unemployed people for every job vacancy, there are only 2.5 unemployed workers per job vacancy in Saskatchewan.
“Our situation makes it critical that our remaining unemployed population gets the skills they need for employment,” Boyd said. “This meeting will be used to determine whether proposed programs can be structured in such a way that they can respond to Saskatchewan’s increasing demand for workers.”
In the Saskatchewan Plan for Growth, the Government of Saskatchewan set a target of 60,000 additional workers in the province by the year 2020 to support economic growth. This includes the increased engagement of underrepresented groups in the work force and the attraction of newcomers from outside the province.
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For more information, contact:
Shanna Schulhauser
Economy
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4765
Email: shanna.schulhauser@gov.sk.ca