An economics professor says he thinks the Saskatchewan government should quit focusing on bringing in workers from other countries and instead develop local citizens.
Herb Emery of the University of Calgary notes although the province’s overall unemployment rate is 4.5 per cent, 10 per cent of 15 to 24 year-olds in Saskatchewan are unemployed.
He says traditionally young males in that age bracket should have much higher employment numbers, especially when there’s a supposed boom on.
He says foreign workers are a short-term fix to the labour shortages out there but they tend to keep wages from going as high as they could.
He adds the government should focus its energies on getting young aboriginal males and other under-represented groups into the workforce.
“So Aboriginal workers, I think, should be part of the government’s strategy,” he says. “But the challenge that has to be dealt with is what are the policy levers that the government can use to improve the outcomes and I am not sure how far along they are in that study or development.”
Emery says if wages were to rise it could entice more young people to finish high school.