Building your career in tourism
Ready to Work
Job readiness and career training program
Ready to Work offers essential skills training for the tourism sector. The program assists unemployed or under-employed individuals in finding and retaining employment, or returning to school. Training is available in a wide range of occupations, particularly in the food and beverage and accommodation industries.
Post-secondary programs
Saskatchewan students can enrol in a wide selection of post-secondary education and training to prepare them for careers in tourism. Here are some of the institutions where training is available:
- Saskatchewan Polytechnic
- Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technology (SIIT)
- University of Regina
- First Nations University of Canada
- University of Saskatchewan
- Academy of Learning Career College
Saskatchewan Polytechnic
School of Hospitality and Tourism
The diploma in Recreation and Tourism Management and post-graduate certificate in Hospitality and Tourism from Saskatchewan Polytechnic provide practical training and knowledge. Saskatchewan Polytechnic's School of Hospitality and Tourism is respected for its program quality, achieving a 94% graduate employment rate.
- Recreation and Tourism Management Diploma
- Hospitality and Tourism Management Post-Graduate Certificate
More information about post-secondary training
Tourism Saskatchewan's Guide to Tourism Careers in Saskatchewan dedicates an entire chapter to post-secondary and industry training programs. The guide is an excellent resource for teachers and counsellors.
Professional certification
Certification from emerit recognizes an individual's competence in their occupation, measured against National Occupational Standards. Training and certification from emerit is developed by Canada's tourism industry. It focuses on assessing not only a person's combined knowledge and skills, but their ability to demonstrate these assets in the workplace or in other relevant contexts.
Professional certification is available for frontline and supervisory occupations, and specialist certification for select management level occupations. emerit certification is a valuable tool for advancing a tourism career, owning and operating a small or medium sized business, or refreshing and honing professional skills and knowledge.
Training and Professional Development Programs from Tourism Saskatchewan
Tourism Saskatchewan Workforce Development creates and manages a wide range of training and professional development opportunities to keep Saskatchewan's tourism professionals at the top of their game.
Workforce Development's human resource products and services enable Saskatchewan employers to recruit, train and retain a highly qualified, professional workforce. Tourism Saskatchewan is the provincial partner for delivery of Tourism HR Canada products and services, including emerit Professional and Specialist certification and training.
You will find most of Tourism Saskatchewan's programs described and linked throughout this Business Hub website. In addition, you can browse the online catalog in the Tourism Saskatchewan Learning Management System and register for courses, workshops and other training.
Tourism HR Canada
Tourism HR Canada is a pan-Canadian organization with a mandate aimed at building a world-leading tourism workforce. Tourism HR Canada facilitates, coordinates, and enables human resource development activities that support a globally competitive and sustainable industry and foster the development of a dynamic and resilient workforce.
Look to Tourism HR Canada for information and resources about:
- Skills, productivity, job design
- Supply, attraction and retention
- Learner and labour mobility
- Labour market/human capital strategies
- Professional standards
- Employer investments in training
- Improved curriculum to respond to market demands
- Quality assurance, program accreditation, rating programs
- Facilitate policy discussions
- Labour market adjustments
Tourism HR Canada provides emerit Skills Training and Certification, delivered in Saskatchewan by Tourism Saskatchewan.
In addition, Tourism HR Canada offers:
- SMART Accreditation Program, to provide national recognition to tourism-related programs that meet or exceed industry standards, and to provide benchmarks that tourism program providers can use to assist them in continually improving their programs.
- Canadian Academy of Travel and Tourism (CATT), a program that introduces and promotes careers in tourism to high school students across Canada. The CATT program is integrated into the current high school curriculum, and allows students to specialize in tourism through a successful work and study approach.
- Discover Tourism Career Exploration Tools, for educators and students.
Service Hospitality
Service Hospitality is a non-profit safety association funded by employers in the hotel, restaurant, laundry and community services industries. The association provides consulting, training, education services and safety resources to help keep Saskatchewan workplaces healthy and safe.
Training includes:
- In-Person Safety Centered Leadership Training – Catering to all learning styles
- Virtual Training – Ability to reach those in rural areas or outside of province
- Service Hospitality TV Videos – Contain a wealth of safety information pertaining to various health and safety topics and emerging issues
The Hospitality Safety Leadership Certificate is the national standard for health and safety leadership with four levels of certification. This certificate program leads employers through the process of developing and implementing a health and safety management system, and helps to create a corporate safety culture.
Young people and new hires are the most at risk of injury on the job. Service Hospitality holds Youth Safety Education Day annually on September 10.
Service Hospitality also provides in-person safety presentations, resources, and tools to elementary, high school, and workplace levels.
Service Hospitality's Mental Health Best Practice group's mission is to work together to implement best practices and positive change for mental health, safety, and claims management. This group collectively discusses practices and policies and offers training and resources to help promote psychological health and prevent psychological harm due to workplace factors.
For organizations with an established Safety Management System, Service Hospitality offers training for the integration of psychological health and safety. Service Hospitality also conducts Psychological Heath and Safety Audits.
Other Training and Education Opportunities
Training - Industry (Legislated)
Approved Safe Food Handling Courses in Saskatchewan
In Saskatchewan, The Food Safety Regulations subsection 26(1) requires food safety training to be received from an approved safe food-handling course. The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) and private business operators deliver approved safe food handling courses. Information on upcoming SHA-provided courses can be obtained by contacting your local SHA office.
The following Safe Food Handling Courses have been approved in Saskatchewan:
In-class:
- Advanced.fst – TrainCan Inc.
- Basics.fst - TrainCan Inc.
- First Nations and Inuit Health Branch Safe Food Handler Training Program
- FOODSAFE Level 1
- FOODSAFE Level 2
- Food Wise - Food Safety Certification Program, Retail Council of Canada
- Managing Food Safety Course by Food Safety Market
- National Food Safety Training Program (NFSTP)
- SafeCheck Advanced Food Safety
- Saskatchewan Basics Safe Food Handling
- ServSafe (Manager’s Certification Program)
Online:
- Basics.fst Online - TrainCan Inc.
- Canadian Institute of Food Safety
- FoodPrep - Food Handler Certification (Online)
- FOODSAFE Level 1 online*
- FOODSAFE Level 2 online
- FoodSafetyTraining.ca
- InstaCert
- KnowledgWare – Food Safety for Food Handlers
- Managing Food Safety Online Course by Food Safety Market
- National Food Safety Training Program (NFSTP)
- Probe It Food Safety
- SafeCheck Advanced Food Safety
- Saskatchewan Basics Safe Food Handling
- ServSafe Canadian Course
- ServeWell*
Please note: The online Food Safe Level 1 Refresher Course is not approved in Saskatchewan.
First aid in Saskatchewan workplaces
Employers, contractors, or owners must provide first aid training and have first aid supplies available at their workplaces.
WorkSafe’s First Aid in Saskatchewan Workplaces Guide provides information about the first aid requirements, the supplies to be included in a first aid box and the recommended quantity per number of workers, and other requirements based on Class A and Class B qualifications.
Training available:
- St. John Ambulance
- Canadian Red Cross
- Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)
In Saskatchewan, the role of education and enforcement for WHMIS is shared by the partnership of WorkSafe Saskatchewan, a partnership between the Saskatchewan Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) and the Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety (LRWS).
The WCB provides education and information to workers and employers, while LRWS Occupational Health and Safety Division focuses primarily on the enforcement of WHMIS.
Serve It Right Saskatchewan
Serve It Right Saskatchewan (SIRS) is the official provincial responsible service of alcohol program. Serve It Right Saskatchewan provides consistent training for the sale and service of alcohol, helping commercial permittees and their employees to ensure that alcohol-related activities are conducted with integrity and in a socially responsible manner.
CannaSell SK Responsible Cannabis Sales
CannaSell SK Responsible Cannabis Sales is the official provincial training program for responsible cannabis sales.