The province has given Hospitality Sask. $400,000 to recruit workers to the industry. (Derek Craddock/paNOW Staff)

By Susan McNeil

Worker shortages

Sask. hospitality industry gets boost to find workers

Apr 3, 2024 | 10:19 AM

In an effort to solve labour shortages in the hospitality, the provincial government has given Hospitality Saskatchewan $400,000 to look for workers.

The money is supposed to help the association create solutions tailored to their needs, including recruiting more Indigenous people to work in the industry.

“This is terrific news and will better position our industry to address the labour shortages faced by our membership,” Hospitality Saskatchewan President and CEO Jim Bence said. “We are very pleased with this investment in our industry by the government and we much appreciate their continued support.”

The group has created what it calls on its website “an aggressive recruitment strategy” called Belong Saskatchewan.

The program will also use the Hard-to-Fill skills pilot program and work with people living in Canada looking for permanent residency.

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Employers that want access to resumes collected and vetted through Belong Saskatchewan must be qualified and can do so by submitting their contact information and sharing their human resources policies and programs.

According to Hospitality Saskatchewan, the process takes about four minutes and employers should hear back in five business days.

A report compiled by Tourism HR Canada from 2023, showed that tourism spending in Saskatchewan was $2.7 billion in 2019 from 12 million visits but that dropped to $1.5 billion in 2020, the first year of the pandemic.

Jobs related to tourism made up 12 per cent of the provincial workforce.

The industry has been bouncing back since the pandemic lows however and in 2021, tourism spending hit $1.7 billion.

READ MORE: Largest hotel in Prince Albert opens

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com