Good Jobs

‘Good jobs’ can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. A ‘good job’ might be a creative job or a stable job, a job where you get to make a difference or a job that helps you re-enter the workforce.

No matter how it is defined, a good job can help someone succeed, and this is an investment worth making. We need to create a community that supports the creation of good jobs through economic diversification, increasing the social impact of spending, and attracting new investments to Saskatoon.

There is no one single, simple way that we can help to create good jobs, but it instead involves a multi-pronged approach. Fortunately, Saskatoon already has many assets to help with this work.

For the first time in Saskatoon’s history, our community has an economic growth strategy. Thanks to the leadership of the Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority, this growth strategy is both comprehensive and forward thinking. It looks to what sort of role Saskatoon can best play in our fast-changing and increasingly interconnected world. It looks to how we can complement our existing strengths while working to build a stronger and more inclusive community. The four pillars of the growth plan are:

  • Continue to be a leader in natural resources
  • Be a center where industries grow through innovation
  • Be a leader in Indigenous economic reconciliation
  • Be known as Canada’s most livable mid-sized city

More information about this plan can be found on SREDA’s website.

Good jobs can also come through encouraging and creating the systems to facilitate social enterprises. There are many people within our community that are unable to enter the workforce due to not having the supports necessary to help with this transition. Social enterprises—through training programs, intentional hiring efforts and employee supports—can help to close this gap. Getting a good job is only the first step, but social enterprises can help people keep jobs as well. The City is also playing a role in this by changing its own procurement policies and standards to ensure that we are having the greatest impacts with the dollars we invest.