One Hundred High School Students Awarded the Saskatchewan Youth Apprenticeship Industry Scholarship

Released on June 16, 2025

One hundred graduating high school students from across the province have been awarded the Saskatchewan Youth Apprenticeship (SYA) Industry Scholarship. The scholarships, presented by the Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission (SATCC), recognize students committed to pursuing careers in the skilled trades. 

“Congratulations to this year's scholarship recipients," Deputy Premier and Immigration and Career Training Minister Jim Reiter said. "The Government of Saskatchewan is proud to support your path to a successful career in the skilled trades. Our government understands how critical skilled trades are to the success and growth of Saskatchewan and is committed to ensuring everyone in the province has the opportunity to pursue these important and rewarding careers."

Each year, SYA Champions - the educators who oversee the SYA program in their schools - are invited to nominate at least one graduating student enrolled in the program who is pursuing a career in the skilled trades after high school. A selection committee of SATCC staff members chooses the winners based on students' responses in the nomination form. Students outline how SYA has benefitted them; their current experiences with the skilled trades; and their education and career plans following graduation. 

SYA Industry Scholarships are unique - students redeem them for $1,000 within two years of graduation by actively embarking on a career in the skilled trades, either by registering as an apprentice and completing Level 1 technical training or by completing a pre-employment course in a trade designated in Saskatchewan. 

One of the recipients, Tia Kingdon, is graduating from Rocanville School this year. Kingdon discovered her passion for the skilled trades through a career and work exploration class through her high school and plans to apprentice as a Construction Electrician. 

"In Grade 11, I did a career and work exploration credit [with an electrical company], and it was such a great experience," she said. "[It] proved that entering the workforce in an apprenticeship program is how I would like to begin my career."

To complete SYA, students work through 12 challenges - everything from interviewing a journeyperson to researching and writing a report on a designated trade to outlining the steps to journeyperson certification. All students who complete SYA and register as apprentices in Saskatchewan within five years receive significant benefits: 300 trade hours, plus the waiver of their apprenticeship registration fee and Level 1 technical training tuition. 

"Graduates of the SYA program learn about the benefits and opportunities that come with careers in the skilled trades, as well as gain valuable benefits when they register as apprentices," SATCC CEO Jeff Ritter said. "The SYA Industry Scholarship recipients have worked hard to demonstrate they are committed to pursuing apprenticeship and the skilled trades after graduation."

Since the scholarship's launch in 2009, more than 1,400 awards have been issued. Funding has been provided by 59 industry sponsors, including employers, industry associations and unions, alongside the Government of Saskatchewan. To date, $1.2 million has been invested in the SYA Industry Scholarship fund. 

More than 3,100 students are currently enrolled in the SYA program province-wide. 

For more information on the SYA program, please visit: saskapprenticeship.ca/sask-youth-apprenticeship. 

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