The morning sun barely creeps over Regina’s skyline as 22-year-old Mia Tran adjusts her safety goggles. Six months ago, she was sending out job applications while her communications degree gathered dust. Today, she’s completing a 16-week advanced manufacturing certificate at Saskatchewan Polytechnic.
“I was desperate,” Mia confides, wiping machine oil from her hands. “Everyone said my degree would open doors, but employers wanted skills, not theory. This program connected me with three job offers before I even finished.”
Mia represents the changing face of Canada’s employment crisis, where youth unemployment remains stubbornly high at 10.3% despite labour shortages in technical fields. The disconnect between traditional education paths and market demands has created what Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe calls “a skills mismatch that threatens our economic resilience.”
Enter polytechnics – institutions that might hold the key to solving this paradox.
Last month, the federal government announced a $145 million investment in polytechnic education, with Saskatchewan receiving $28 million to expand skill-focused programs. The initiative aims to address growing concerns that Canadian youth are increasingly unprepared for available jobs.
“We’re seeing a fundamental shift in what employers need,” explains Dr. Larry Rosia, President of Saskatchewan Polytechnic. “Companies aren’t just looking for degrees anymore – they want applied skills, technical knowledge, and workplace readiness. Traditional universities simply weren’t designed for this reality.”
The numbers tell a troubling story. According to Statistics Canada’s February labour report, nearly 263,000 Canadian youth remain unemployed despite 380,000 vacant positions across the country. Meanwhile, skilled trades and technical positions make up 40% of these openings, with employers struggling to find qualified candidates.
Saskatchewan’s approach merges academic knowledge with hands-on training, creating what industry leaders call “T-shaped professionals” – workers with both depth in specific technical areas and breadth across related disciplines.
At a recent industry roundtable in Regina, Cameco Corporation HR Director Janet Mirwaldt pointed to the program’s early success. “We’ve hired seven graduates from the nuclear technology program, and they’re outperforming traditional hires in problem-solving and practical application. They require significantly less onboarding.”
The polytechnic model focuses on three core principles: rapid adaptation to industry needs, practical skills development, and close employer partnerships. Programs typically run between 8-24 months, with curricula developed alongside industry partners who often provide equipment, mentorship, and guaranteed interviews.
“Our instructors worked in the field yesterday, and our students will be in the field tomorrow,” says Rosia. “We don’t just teach theory – we teach application in real-world environments.”
The initiative includes mobile training units that travel to remote communities, addressing geographic barriers that often prevent Indigenous youth from accessing technical education. In northern Saskatchewan, where unemployment among Indigenous youth reaches 22%, these units offer training in mining technology, environmental monitoring, and digital skills.
Standing outside the mobile unit in Île-à-la-Crosse, 19-year-old Noah Larocque describes his journey from unemployment to environmental technician. “Before this program came to us, I had no path forward. University wasn’t an option financially, and moving to the city wasn’t realistic for me. Now I’m monitoring water quality for mining operations without leaving my community.”
Critics argue the polytechnic approach devalues traditional education and creates a two-tier system. University of Regina sociologist Dr. Patricia Harrison warns: “We’re telling young people that deep thinking and broad education aren’t valuable. This could create workers who can operate equipment but can’t innovate beyond it.”
However, those concerns seem disconnected from the experiences of students like Carlos Menendez, who holds both a history degree and a new advanced data analytics certificate from Saskatchewan Polytechnic.
“My liberal arts education taught me to think critically and contextualize problems, but employers wanted specific technical skills,” Carlos explains during his lunch break at a Regina tech firm. “The polytechnic program didn’t replace my degree – it complemented it. Now I analyze historical trends using data visualization tools my university never taught me.”
The Saskatchewan model emphasizes this complementary approach. Rather than replacing universities, polytechnics create alternative and additional pathways. Nearly 30% of current Saskatchewan Polytechnic students already hold university credentials but couldn’t secure employment without technical skills.
Federal Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault, visiting the Regina campus last week, highlighted the economic imperatives. “When we have young people unemployed while jobs go unfilled, that represents billions in lost productivity. Polytechnics bridge that gap with practical, demand-driven education.”
The initiative also addresses economic resilience concerns. During Saskatchewan’s pandemic recovery, sectors with high concentrations of polytechnic graduates – healthcare technology, advanced manufacturing, and digital services – rebounded faster than traditional sectors.
“These workers adapt quickly to changing conditions,” explains Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce President Prabha Ramaswamy. “When one industry faces challenges, their skills transfer more readily to adjacent sectors.”
The model’s success has caught attention across provincial boundaries. Ontario recently announced a similar $56 million initiative focused on polytechnic expansion in manufacturing regions hit by automotive industry contractions.
For students like Mia Tran, the theoretical debates matter less than practical outcomes. As she finishes her shift at the manufacturing lab, she checks her phone to find another job interview request.
“I spent four years getting my degree and couldn’t find work. After four months here, I have options,” she says. “Maybe the ideal is having both – the thinking skills from university and the doing skills from polytechnic. But if I had to choose again knowing what I know now? I’d start here.”
As Canada navigates workforce challenges, economic transitions, and technological disruption, Saskatchewan’s polytechnic experiment offers a compelling model for reimagining education’s relationship with employment – one skilled graduate at a time.
