Opinion: Sask. Polytechnic preparing province to meet future needs

Article content

While Saskatchewan’s economy surges ahead, our labour force is struggling to keep up. The mismatch threatens our economic momentum, challenging sectors from agriculture to health care, mining and manufacturing to trades and technology.

Article content

Article content

Institutions like Saskatchewan Polytechnic are uniquely positioned to transform today’s challenge into tomorrow’s opportunity.

Article content

The headlines from both government and industry have been fast and furious: “Saskatchewan will need 15,000 workers in the mining industry in the next decade;” “Farmers turn to automation to address labour shortage;” “Shortage of skilled tradespeople is hitting all Canadians in the pocketbook.”

Labour gaps and skill shortages across sectors threaten project delays and slow our province’s red-hot economy. And that’s before you take into account shifts like the move to clean energy technology and the introduction of small modular reactors, both of which require a skilled nuclear workforce.

This has become an urgent concern for our industry and employer partners eager to take advantage of a global uptick in demand for Saskatchewan’s food, fuel and fertilizer. Our province’s competitive advantage lies in its resource-rich economy, but, without skilled workers, we risk falling behind.

That’s where polytechnics come in.

Polytechnics, by their very design, are built to adapt quickly to evolving labour market needs. They focus on delivering career-specific, applied education and can pivot rapidly to address emerging skills gaps.

Article content

Article content

Close relationships with industry partners ensure programs and curriculum remain relevant and aligned with real-time workforce demands.

Polytechnics are experts at developing flexible learning pathways that lend themselves to rapid realignment. Micro-credentials, certifications and other short-term programs are introduced and updated more quickly than traditional degree programs.

With the world increasingly turning to Saskatchewan resources, including uranium, potash and critical minerals, the mining industry is facing workforce shortages and recruitment challenges. Sector-wide, a shortfall of more than 4,000 workers is looming by 2034.

At the same time, technology and automation are shifting the skill sets needed to power growth and transformation in the mining industry.

To respond to these challenges, the International Minerals Innovation Institute provided funding for Sask Polytech to develop a virtual mine lab. Virtual reality headsets simulate a real mining environment and allow students to explore the skills needed on a job site, including safety protocols and operational procedures.

Article content

Innovative teaching tools like this, along with work-integrated learning — apprenticeships, co-op terms and applied research initiatives — give learners real-world experience and skills, while at the same time helping business innovate and address operational challenges.

As Saskatchewan prepares to introduce small modular reactors into its energy mix, Sask Polytech is plugged into the planning process and already considering curriculum and capacity options.

We’ve already applied this same agility to the urgent need for highly trained health-care workers.

When the province announced its Health Human Resources Action Plan in September 2022, Sask Polytech moved quickly to add seats, not only to its nursing programs, but to other in-demand specialties including medical lab technologist and medical radiation technologist programs.

We’ve continued to expand those programs and others, adding seats to psychiatric nursing in 2024.

We also worked with our partners, including government and regulatory bodies, to adapt our 40-week registered nursing bridging program for internationally educated nurses to get skilled nurses into our communities even more quickly.

Article content

The 14-week transition to registered nursing program for internationally educated nurses has attracted interest from institutions across Canada seeking to emulate its success.

Last year, we signed a contract with Prince Edward Island to provide a hybrid alternative where the clinical skills and education portion is delivered by Sask Polytech in that province.

Skilled workers are the fuel that powers our province and, indeed, our country, and there’s never been a more powerful tool — with a proven track record — to address labour and skill shortages than a polytechnic education.

Each day, every day, polytechnics are creating innovative pathways that translate viable into visionary.

Larry Rosia is president and CEO of Saskatchewan Polytechnic.

Share your views

The StarPhoenix welcomes opinion articles. Click here to find out what you need to know about how to write one that will increase the odds it will be published. Send submissions to letters@thestarphoenix.com or ptank@postmedia.com.

Our websites are your destination for up-to-the-minute Saskatchewan news, so make sure to bookmark thestarphoenix.com and leaderpost.com. For Regina Leader-Post newsletters click here; for Saskatoon StarPhoenix newsletters click here

Article content