PARTY IN THE PRAIRIES
Calling all, far and near, 2022 SAAR Fall Conference tickets are here. Set to run over three days and jam-packed with some of the biggest names in the North American collision repair industry, the Saskatchewan Association of Automotive Repairers are all geared up for what they are considering their most ambitious conference to date. Starting September 22, the conference will tee off with a golf tournament, as usual, before heading into two full days of high-level industry insights from names like Dave Luehr, Donald Cooper and Collision Hub’s Kristen Felder. The event will also see product demonstrations and exhibitions from a number of aftermarket businesses, including Saskatoon-based LED developer, Unilite Canada.
LAND OF LIVING SKILLS
With the national skilled trades shortage showing no signs of easing, the government of Saskatchewan has announced that they will be holding the door open for new residents who want to bring their skills to the prairies through the Labour Mobility and Fair Registration Practices Act. The government hopes that through this new act, barriers for workers looking to relocate to Saskatchewan will be reduced and in-demand jobs across the province will be filled.
The act includes a new office of labour mobility and fair registration practices that will operate within the Ministry of Immigration and Career Training. In its press release, the government describes the obligations of the office as “working with the regulatory bodies to examine timeframes for registration decisions, registration application requirements, qualification assessment processes and internationally-trained recognition pathways.” Saskatchewan has already committed to growing the provincial population to 1.4 million and adding 100,000 jobs by 2030.
“To meet the demands of Saskatchewan’s growing economy, it is important that we develop our current labour force as well as recruit domestically and internationally to bring more skilled workers to the province,” said Immigration and Career Training Minister Jeremy Harrison. “This new legislation will be the most comprehensive of its kind and make Saskatchewan a destination of choice for skilled professionals and tradespeople.” Saskatchewan is one of the only provinces in the country without legislation requiring regulatory bodies to comply with domestic trade agreements, or to support fair registration practices for internationally trained workers.
This move by Saskatchewan’s government bears similarities to a skilled trades recruitment campaign launched by Nova Scotia’s government in December, introduced in the hopes of doubling the province’s population by 2060.
