(Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies/Facebook)

By Julia Lovett-Squires

SIIT La Loche

SIIT to celebrate career centre in La Loche with grand opening January 25

Jan 25, 2024 | 5:00 PM

Celebrating the completion of their tenth career centre, the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies (SIIT) hosted a grand opening in the new La Loche Pop-Up Centre on Thurs.

According to a news release, the facility will serve “as a hub for Indigenous individuals and communities seeking comprehensive employment and training services tailored to their unique needs.”

“We had a large contingent of young people in the crowd that we hope will be taking part in the services that we offer,” said James Ouellette, senior director, employment and strategic initiatives.

“It was a good day for us, it was an exciting day.”

Throughout the event, local dignitaries spoke words of welcome before speeches were made, followed by a walk-through tour and ribbon cutting events.

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“Last year the SIIT Career Centre network supported over 4,100 clients on their pathway towards sustainable employment, providing employment connections and opportunities for preemployment preparation and skill development,” said Lisa Shingoose, vice-president of Employment Development and Career Services, in the release.

“Clients set their objectives, local employers identify their workforce needs and we create alignment between the two,” she added.

Ouellette explained as industry was beginning to ramp up in the far northwest communities, the development of labour pool will be critical and thus La Loche was an ideal location. He added that the career centres are in touch with their employment partners and know what’s happening industry-wide in sectors across Saskatchewan and Alberta.

“One that kept popping up was of course the NexGen Energy,” he said, adding in 2019, they contacted them to see how much of a labour pool was needed for their uranium mine.

At the time, the company estimated about 700 to 800 workers would be needed for the construction phase followed by roughly 500 in operations.

“We felt it was a good place for us to start because of the work we do in getting people labour ready,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ouellette explained the positive turnout they got for the grand opening will help get the word out that they’re there and are ready to help clients find work. SIIT plans to assess the pop-up on a yearly basis to ensure its matching what industry needs.

“As long as the industry is strong and I anticipate it will be, particularly with the advent of the need for more uranium within the world market and also precious metals, I strongly believe that area will probably need us for some time.”

The SIIT was founded in 1987 and the site in La Loche will take its place alongside locations in the Battlefords, La Ronge, Meadow Lake, Saskatoon, Creighton, Prince Albert, Lloydminster, Regina, and Yorkton network.

cjnbnews@pattisonmedia.com

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