A Saskatoon-based employment skills program that offers opportunities to gain experience for people facing barriers to entry into the construction industry has obtained provincial funding.

Earlier this week, the Ministry of Immigration and Career Training posted an advance contract award notice (ACAN) announcing its intent to contract with Quint Development, starting Feb. 7, for approximately $300,000 to fund the Build Up Saskatoon program this year, with the option for two additional one-year terms.

Quint has been operating Build Up Saskatoon for nearly three years; it co-founded the program with STR8 UP, an organization that works with people transitioning out of gang lifestyles.

The money provides income support for the participants, and funds training coordinator, employee support worker and team supervisor positions, which helps formalize the pre-employment training. Under the agreement, specific outcomes — work/job readiness, skills enhancement, and work/job maintenance — will be monitored throughout the contract.

People with little work experience or skills, or who have a criminal record, face difficulty finding jobs, noted Len Usiskin, executive director of Quint Development Corporation.

Quint offers affordable housing and employment programs in Saskatoon and has been speaking with the province about the outcomes the program can provide, including reduced contacts with the justice system and emergency services. It can also reduce homelessness, which means less money spent by government to address these issues, Usiskin said.

Keep reading in the Saskatoon StarPhoenix

• 
•