A resident of Prince Albert, Casavant started work in May 2006 and is paid through the Aboriginal Career Connections Program of the Saskatchewan Public Service Commission, which provided him with the interning placement.

Casavant said the PBCN/PAGC Role Model Conference and Career Fair at Prince Albert’s Exhibition Centre was his third career fair promoting careers within the Saskatchewan Highways and Transportation department.

“Eighty percent of Saskatchewan Highways and Transportation staff will be retired within the next five to ten years,” Casavant said, opening up many opportunities for a large and growing Aboriginal population, which needs to be accessed and brought into the force.

There are approximately 1500 employees within the 8 shops in the entire department province-wide, while the Prince Albert shop – the province’s largest, located in North Industrial Park – has approximately 125. The Prince Albert shop builds its own tandem trucks that are used on highways throughout the province, so it is a busy place, says Casavant.

There are 45 different occupations at Highways and Transportation, which include tradespersons such as mechanics and welders, equipment operators and road builders, to professional positions like engineers and accountants. Many of the office positions are in Regina, with some in Prince Albert.

For those wanting to become welders and mechanics, says Casavant, “you need your first year or pre-employment in either mechanics or welding. We partner with your individual First Nation, and we pay 50 percent and they pay 50 percent. They work with us for 10 months and then go back to school for two months, over four years, until they become a journeyperson mechanic.”

Those interested in being a grader operator must start with obtaining a 3A licence and then work towards a 1A certification, said Casavant, “and then we would train you on our equipment.”

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