Province praises Moose Jaw chamber’s efforts to increase seniors’ employment

The provincial government is highlighting the success of a seniors-focused pilot project in Moose Jaw as part of its efforts to have Ottawa reverse cuts to a national employment funding program.

The Sask. Party government held five news conferences simultaneously across the province on Aug. 21 — the Moose Jaw event was held at Deer Valley Golf Course — to announce that it was providing $17.6 million to cover a shortfall in federal funding for employment and skills training for 2024-25 and to help maintain programs and services in the province.

These programs and services prepare residents for jobs that the province’s growing economy is creating, the government said. If it hadn’t stepped in with additional funding, roughly 250 employers and 7,000 clients would have been affected.  

During its spring budget, as part of cost savings, the federal government cut $625 million from the Labour Market Transfer Agreements (LMTAs), which provinces and territories use to support job training. Saskatchewan’s share was $17.6 million.

This situation “is a really, really critical issue” because it affects workers, job seekers, employers, post-secondary institutions and training providers and puts training programs at risk, said Lumsden-Morse MLA Blaine McLeod. Ottawa’s funding cuts come when employers everywhere are citing labour shortages as their main growth challenges and when more people are calling Saskatchewan home.

“Training Saskatchewan residents so they can take advantage of the jobs created in our rapidly growing economy … may not be a priority for the federal government, but it certainly, certainly is a priority for the Government of Saskatchewan … ,” he continued.

“If our government had not stepped in, this very poor (and reckless) policy decision by the federal government would have had harmful impacts on the province’s labour market and growing economy.”

McLeod then highlighted the Moose Jaw and District Chamber of Commerce’s efforts to grow the workforce by connecting older skilled workers with companies experiencing vacancies through a program called Senior Moose Jobs.

He noted that workers over age 55 are looking for extra income and can reliably fill positions.

“Growth requires labour, labour requires training, and workforce employers require trained individuals. It’s not rocket science … ,” he added. “When everybody is employed, you get strong and vibrant communities.”

Rob Clark, chamber CEO, expressed his appreciation for the province’s support, giving a hearty “hell yeah!” after stepping to the podium.

He explained that he and Heather Bergdahl, the chamber’s office administrator, began thinking of ways to increase seniors’ participation in the workforce following the pandemic’s conclusion. They conducted research and talked with other organizations before landing on the idea of Senior Moose Jobs.

While the chamber launched the seniors-focused pilot program in April — it ends Feb. 28, 2025 — the initiative really began seeing success in May, Clark said. The initial goal was to match 35 seniors with employers, but the chamber increased that goal to 100 people to prove that the project was worthwhile.

So far, there have been 89 applicants, with businesses — 54 are participating — interviewing 69 people and hiring 22.

Older workers are reliable and usually require less training because they’ve been in the workforce for 30 to 40 years, which means employers don’t have to worry too much about them because of that experience, said Clark.

The chamber CEO noted that Senior Moose Jobs — which receives $100,000 from the province — has received plenty of positive reviews and is continuing to grow. He noted that Saskatchewan residents over age 55 comprise the largest labour cohort in the province.

Clark added that this has been a long, fun and rewarding process for the chamber, the community, the province and the labour market overall.

For more information, visit www.mjchamber.com or contact barry@seniormoosejobs.ca.