Introduction

The JobStart/Future Skills Sector Partnerships Program of Saskatchewan Learning (formerly Saskatchewan Post-Secondary Education and Skills Training) enabled a sector study of the culture industry in Saskatchewan. This industry profile is based on that study, published in 1999.

The culture industry established a partnership of industry members and key stakeholders through funding and support from the Sector Partnerships Program. These partners worked together to carry out a study that identified current and future hiring needs and training requirements.

Strategic planning enables industry and training providers to work together to provide training opportunities that match the skills the industry requires.

For more information about the Sector Partnership Report and this industry visit the Executive Summary. You'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this PDF file.

Culture Overview

The Canadian scene

• The cultural industry includes five broad sub-industries (Cultural
• Human Resources Council, 1997):
  
  • Music and sound recording
    
  • Visual arts and crafts
    
  • Literary arts and publishing
    
  • Audio-visual and live performing arts
    
  • Heritage (including museums, libraries, archives and record management)
    
• National statistics indicate that over 650,000 people are employed in the cultural industry. Some are involved in a variety of profit and nonprofit organizations. Others are self-employed.
  
• The growth of the cultural industry has been more than double the rate of growth in the overall Canadian labour force (Statistics Canada, 1997).
  
• The Canadian culture labour force is highly educated, diversified and involved in a wide range of occupations and enterprises.
  
• The industry contributes to some of the most vital economic areas, such as broadcasting, tourism, industrial design, computer graphics, renovation and construction. It also contributes to new product areas such as multimedia and the Internet.

Who works in the industry?

• The cultural labour force is highly educated, skilled, motivated and entrepreneurial.
  
• Statistics Canada 1997 figures indicated that there was a higher percentage of female workers who, on average, received lower levels of income in many areas in the culture industry.
  Women pursue two-thirds of all cultural training offered in Canada.
  
• In the past, women have been the primary volunteers in the cultural industry. Many organizations could not have existed without their volunteer labour.
  
• First Nations and Métis workers are an integral part of the cultural industry. They are involved with organizations that specifically train in Aboriginal traditions and cultural practice. And they are trainers and participants throughout public and private organizations in the culture industry.
  

Saskatchewan Overview

• The Saskatchewan Arts Board reports a rate of growth in the culture industry since 1986 that is double the rate of growth in the overall Saskatchewan labour force.
  
• A significant portion of the cultural workforce is reported as self-employed either exclusively (30%) or part time (25%).
  
• In Saskatchewan, cultural occupations cover a wide range of activities in music and sound recording, visual arts and crafts, literary arts and publishing, audio-visual and live performing arts, heritage, and multiculturalism.
  
• Culture enhances the quality of life for citizens of the province. It contributes to community and economic development in cities, towns and isolated rural communities.
  
• The industry includes several thousand organizations, large and small, profit and nonprofit.
  
• Many cultural workers are working in leading edge areas of new technologies, supplying creative content for communications, distance and multimedia technologies.
  
• The culture industry has significant economic and human resource potential in the future of the province.
  

Saskatchewan Trends

• There is a changing multicultural profile in Saskatchewan that is recognized by many organizations in the culture industry. They have identified cultural preservation, intercultural understanding, cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary projects, and cross-cultural training as priorities.
  
• A major issue for cultural organizations is access to funding to maintain and develop their organizations. There is a need to find ways to survive on limited funds, to develop effective business management, and to use vision and creativity to find new sources of financing.
  

Related Jobs

The following list provides an idea of some of the jobs in the cultural area.

Where there is a relevant occupational description in Saskatchewan Job Futures, you can click on the job to go directly to that description. You’ll learn more about the occupation, including education and training requirements, work duties, wage information and employment trends.

National Occupational Classification (NOC) numbers follow the job title. You can use the NOC numbers to look up the occupations in the NOC.

Librarian (511) Conservator (511) Curator (511) Actor (513) Photographer (5221) Cultural manager/arts administrator (051)

Archivist (511) Language instructor (413) Dancer (513) Visual artist (513) Arts/crafts instructor (524) Historical researcher and writer (416)

 

Skills and Training

There is a common need for training in cultural management, new technologies, and cross-cultural and multicultural awareness in all areas of the culture industry.

Technology has significant applications in multimedia, advanced language training, learning aids, computer animation, contemporary video techniques, sound and lighting, museum collection management, use of the Internet and distance learning technology, the ability to design software, and business.

Training needs are quite specific to organizations, sometimes highly specialized and not easily categorized into areas of common concern. This is because of the vast diversity of the culture industry.

Accessibility can be a problem in Saskatchewan. Few cultural organizations are based in northern or rural Saskatchewan and therefore training opportunities are limited.

Want to find out what kind of culture education and training programs are offered in Saskatchewan? Check into What to Study? to find out what’s available and where.

SaskCulture also provides a database of training providers in the province.

Workers in the culture industry indicate that skills that are becoming important now will be more so by 2004.

Some technical skills that will be needed in the future include:

Computer-enhanced photography Computer-related art production (Web pages, multimedia presentations) Computer-based visual and audio editing Interactive display Technology for business management and communications Computer-based skills in geographic information systems, data management, audiovisual technical skills, specialized archaeology analytic techniques

Cultural management skills include:

Computer-enhanced photography Computer-related art production (Web pages, multimedia presentations) Computer-based visual and audio editing Interactive display Technology for business management and communications Computer-based skills in geographic information systems, data management, audiovisual technical skills, specialized archaeology analytic techniques

Skills that Aboriginal organizations consider most important include:

Basic literacy and life skills Training and programming related to cultural preservation New technology Cultural management

The Future

As Canadian culture adapts and expands into the 21st century, this industry will continue to diverge and expand with new occupations.

However, program expansion to fill new and future needs is seen as dependent upon funding as well as available training.

Related Information

Visit the following Web sites for more information on the culture industry:

SaskCulture
Cultural Human Resources Council (CHRC)
CARFAC – Canadian Artists Representation

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