Saskatchewan investing over $50 million this year to provide health care training opportunities

Saskatchewan is investing $51.2 million for 2024-2025 to support new and ongoing expansion of health care training across the province.

"Our government recognizes the importance of training the next generation of health care professionals to serve the needs of people across Saskatchewan," Premier Scott Moe said. "Expanding education opportunities is a key deliverable of our Health Human Resources Action Plan. This investment in training is a part of broader efforts to meet the current and future need for nurses and other health care professionals in our province."

This year's funding will add 66 new training seats across six programs and develop four new domestic training programs: Occupational Therapy, Speech Language Pathology, Physician Assistant and Respiratory Therapy. It also supports the continuation of previously announced expansions of 550 health training seats and 150 nursing seats across the province in urban, rural and northern locations.

From this year’s funding, $4.9 million will be invested to support new nursing education opportunities in the province. Three nursing programs at Saskatchewan institutions will be expanded, including: 

• 24 Registered Nurse seats through the Saskatchewan Collaborative Bachelor of Science in Nursing (SCBScN) program, jointly delivered by the University of Regina and Saskatchewan Polytechnic;
• 16 Registered Psychiatric Nurse seats at Saskatchewan Polytechnic; and 
• Eight Registered Psychiatric Nurse seats at North West College (brokered by Saskatchewan Polytechnic). 

"Expanding nursing education seats not only enriches the educational journey of aspiring nurses by granting them access to top-notch instruction but also serves as a proactive response to the growing demand for skilled health care professionals," said Dr. Eli Ahlquist, North West College President and CEO. "By creating new opportunities in health care education, particularly within Saskatchewan, we guarantee that local students are equipped with the means to pursue rewarding careers within their own communities."

The new registered nursing and registered psychiatric nursing seats will be available for students in fall 2024.

In March, two provincial governments were being criticized for the way they are spending funding for health care workers.

Over the past three years, Saskatchewan invested over $111.5 million to expand health training programs in support of the Health Human Resources Action Plan with an emphasis on nursing seats. Approximately 870 new health care training seats – over 250 in nursing programs – are being implemented for Saskatchewan students.

In December 2023, Mark Holland, minister of health, has announced the Canadian government will provide $3.5 million over 5 years to the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) to develop a “National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being”, which he said will improve health care workforce retention.