Launched on January 31, 2023

Saskatchewan is dramatically growing academic alternatives for Saskatchewan college students and younger adults all for well being careers. A right away preliminary funding of greater than $5.5 million will assist create over 550 new post-secondary coaching seats throughout 18 well being care coaching packages. 

Increasing well being coaching packages is one in every of 4 pillars within the province’s Well being Human Assets Motion Plan. This dedication will enhance coaching capability on the province’s post-secondary establishments and reserve extra coaching seats for Saskatchewan college students in extremely specialised packages in different provinces. 

“This initiative will open up thrilling new well being profession choices for a lot of extra Saskatchewan college students by giving them higher entry to coaching for his or her profession of selection,” Superior Schooling Minister Gordon Wyant stated. “The size of this unprecedented growth of Saskatchewan’s well being coaching capability demonstrates our authorities’s dedication to strengthening our well being care workforce. We’re grateful for the help of our companions throughout the post-secondary training and well being sectors.”

Coaching packages that may develop starting in fall 2023 embody Medical Laboratory Assistant, Persevering with Care Assistant, Major Care Paramedic, Licensed Sensible Nurse, Pharmacy Technician, Medical Psychologist, Bodily Therapist and Psychological Well being and Addictions Counsellor. 

Submit-secondary establishments throughout the province – technical faculties, regional schools, Indigenous establishments and universities – will help the growth in order that college students can examine and work nearer to house. This newest growth builds on a earlier funding in 2022-23 so as to add 150 nursing seats in Saskatchewan’s registered nursing, registered psychiatric nursing, and nurse practitioner packages.

The province will even buy extra seats for Saskatchewan college students at establishments exterior the province for specialised packages not accessible in Saskatchewan. Extra seats might be accessible in packages together with Respiratory Remedy, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Expertise, Diagnostic Medical Sonography, Occupational Remedy, Electro-Neurophysiology, and Cardiovascular Perfusion. For the primary time, seats will even be reserved for Saskatchewan college students in Speech Language Pathology and Environmental Public Well being.

“We’re taking a number of actions below our bold HHR Motion Plan to stabilize and steadily develop our health-care workforce,” Well being Minister Paul Merriman stated. “This contains coaching extra health-care professionals right here at house, and recruiting from throughout the province, throughout Canada and overseas. This coaching seat growth considerably will increase academic alternatives for Saskatchewan college students throughout a number of well being disciplines and can generate elevated curiosity in coaching and dealing in well being care right here in our nice province.”

A brand new public consciousness marketing campaign will assist make Saskatchewan college students and younger adults conscious of the expanded coaching packages, monetary help and job alternatives accessible to them. Among the many younger adults featured within the marketing campaign is Kelsey Klewchuk, a lately graduated Major Care Paramedic from Regina. 

“No two days are the identical,” Klewchuk stated. “I am at all times studying one thing new, taking one thing significant away from my day and I actually recognize that about my job. I might say to somebody contemplating going into my subject of labor – or well being care on the whole – that this job means that you can critically assume, work as a group, and general, it may be a really rewarding job once you do get the possibility to assist somebody and make a distinction on some of the critical days or occasions of their life.”

Saskatchewan college students can entry a wide range of monetary assist choices to assist help their academic journeys, together with loans, grants, bursaries and scholarships. The Graduate Retention Program additionally gives as much as $20,000 in tax credit for many who keep within the province after commencement.

The Well being Human Assets Motion Plan introduced in September relies on 4 pillars: recruit, prepare, incentivize and retain. These priorities align with Saskatchewan’s Development Plan and can make investments over $60 million and add greater than 1,000 well being professionals to the well being system over the subsequent few years. The $5.5 million funding throughout this fiscal 12 months will assist post-secondary establishments put together to rent school, buy gear and recruit certified college students in order that program growth can start this fall. Ongoing investments might be required in future years and might be decided as a part of the annual finances course of. 

To study extra about Saskatchewan’s multi-faceted method to supporting well being human assets and to search out data on well being care alternatives, go to Saskatchewan.ca/HHR.

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For extra data, contact:

Briana Bolduc
Superior Schooling
Regina
Cellphone: 306-787-0253
E mail: [email protected]

Media Relations
Well being
Regina
Cellphone: 306-787-4085