Introduction

The JobStart/Future Skills Sector Partnerships Program of Saskatchewan Learning enabled a sector study of the health industry in Saskatchewan. This industry profile is based on that study, published in November, 2000.

The health 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.

Saskatchewan Overview

• The health industry is central to the society and economy of Saskatchewan and to the stability and survival of its communities.
  
• Saskatchewan has been recognized internationally for more than half a century as an innovator and leader in organizing, financing and providing health services.
  
• More than 702 Saskatchewan firms or institutions employ health care workers.
  
• There are approximately 40,000 workers in the Saskatchewan health industry, placing it third behind agriculture and the retail trades.
  
• In addition to 23 regulated health service professional occupations, there are more than 60 other health care occupations.
  
• Rural and northern areas face the challenge of attracting workers. This is due to the smaller number of full-time employment opportunities, jobs that can be combined for a full-time income, and job opportunities for spouses of health care employees. Fewer housing options and other services compound the problem.
  
• Widespread hiring on a casual basis sometimes prevents people from entering the health care field. The initial cost of education means graduates need full-time employment. The prospect of casual employment discourages some workers from entering the field.
  

Kinds of employers

• In 1998, health districts employed about 71% of all full-time equivalent health service workers.
  
• Acute care hospitals employ the largest group of health service workers. Hospital employees make up 36% of the total full-time equivalent workers.
  

Who works in the industry?

• The average age of workers in the health care industry has been estimated at 43 years of age.
  
• Aboriginal people are not fully represented in Saskatchewan’s health industry workforce.
  
  

Saskatchewan Trends

• Money spent on health care has grown steadily over the 50 years of public health care funding, with the exception of the first half of the 1990s.
  
• Employment in the industry continues to grow more or less consistently with the increase in expenditures.
  
• There are serious and growing shortages in a number of health care occupations.
  
• Hiring and keeping health care employees is a province-wide issue, and is particularly critical for northern and rural health districts.
  
• The shifting of the population from rural to urban areas is presenting a problem. Young people who attend educational programs in urban centres seldom return to work near their homes. While the number of older people in rural areas is growing, there are fewer health care workers to meet their needs.
  
• Rural employers tend to look for generalists. Urban employers focus on people with specialized skills, especially technical staff who can operate high tech equipment.
  
• The use of part-time and casual employment is common practice. Some employees work full-time hours but often in more than one facility. Some nurses work more than full-time hours to cover other nurses' sick leave and stress leave.
  
• Attracting and keeping both registered nurses and licensed practical nurses is a major issue. The problem is expected to persist into the foreseeable future.
  
• Special care aides for long term care facilities are also in short supply.
  
• Occupations with the highest vacancy rates in 1998 included emergency medical technicians (advanced), dental technicians, operating room technicians, licensed practical nurses (operating room), primary care nurses, psychologists, occupational therapists and physical therapists.

Related Jobs

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

Other related jobs include: physician, social worker, public health inspector, pharmacist, dietician, dentist, medical receptionist and many others.

Skills and Training

Courses relevant to the health industry are offered at the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST) and/or at regional colleges.

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

Skills and knowledge that workers in the industry may need include:

Assessment Geriatric care Dementia Anatomy and physiology Cultural awareness and sensitivity

Computer skills Health and safety Supervisory skills Labour relations Technical skills specific to the occupation

• The aging population will require more health care workers with background training in geriatrics or gerontology.
  Special care aides, community health workers and home care workers will be needed to serve the elderly.
  
• Due to the changing nature of long term care facilities, there will be a greater need for rehabilitation and recreational aides and technicians.
  
• The automation of patient records will create demand in information technology, records maintenance and related areas.
  
• Social work and mental health will also be growth areas.
  A large number of nurses may retire over the period to 2010. Rural districts, in particular, will have difficulty replacing these nurses as they compete for nursing graduates with larger urban centres, other provinces and countries.
  
• The poor agricultural economy will lead to fewer and bigger farms. As a result, there will be fewer spouses available to work in rural health care facilities.
  
• An additional 46,000 Aboriginal people will be ready to enter the workforce in 2012. Aboriginal people should be encouraged to participate fully in the health industry.
  
• As diabetes becomes more prevalent within First Nations communities, diabetes training will become more urgent.
  

Related Information

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

Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations
Saskatchewan Health

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