This week, the Government of Saskatchewan announced a new temporary training program to help businesses train employees to enhance safety protocols and adjust business models as they re-open.
The Re-Open Saskatchewan Training Subsidy (RSTS) program will reimburse eligible private-sector employers 100 per cent of employee training costs up to a maximum of $10,000 per business to mitigate against additional financial impacts from training required to support their safe re-opening.
鈥淭his program is another tool to support Saskatchewan businesses through this challenging period by fully funding the costs of the short-term training necessary to re-open and adapt to the post-COVID environment,鈥� Immigration and Career Training Minister Jeremy Harrison said in a media release.聽 鈥淭hrough this program and other initiatives, we remain committed to working with businesses during this period of economic recovery throughout the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan.鈥�
Juanita Polegi, Executive Director of the Yorkton Chamber of Commerce questioned why the support appears limited to select businesses?
鈥淭he response to the pandemic has been very costly for all businesses, not just those on the government鈥檚 list of critical public service and allowable businesses list, so ideally all businesses which must incur additional costs in order to provide safety training for their employees should be eligible for assistance from the Re-opening Saskatchewan Training Subsidy program,鈥� she said.
The $2 million RSTS program will support short-term training of employees, focusing on areas such as health and safety requirements and the adoption of innovative practices to help the business adapt to social distancing requirements.聽
Polegi also wondered about the word innovation in terms of what is required.
鈥淚n terms of the goal of helping businesses adopt 鈥渋nnovative practices to help businesses adapt to social distancing requirements鈥�, it鈥檚 interesting to note that the WHO (World Health Organization), issued a statement April 29 indicating that one metre was sufficient to avoid transmission of the virus,鈥� she said.聽
With that in mind Polegi added, 鈥淭he Yorkton Chamber has sent a letter to Premier Moe requesting that the province reduce its requirement of 2 metres (6.6 feet) of physical distancing to 1.2 metres (4 feet).聽 Reducing the amount of space required in order to appropriately physically distance would enable businesses such as restaurants and hair salons to have more patrons per day which would certainly assist their bottom lines.鈥�
As it stands Polegi said businesses want to do what they need to in order to ensure safety for employees and patrons, adding, 鈥渢he Yorkton Chamber continues to encourage its members to provide the products necessary for people to practice excellent personal hygiene.鈥�
The RSTS program is being launched as a temporary emergency response for eligible employers who are currently on the Government of Saskatchewan鈥檚 list of critical public services and allowable businesses during the emergency period or set to resume business operations in a confirmed phase of the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan.
The application deadline for RSTS is July 31, 2020.
For more information, employers can visit , call 306-964-1005 for Saskatoon and area or 306-787-4677 for Regina and area, or email [email protected].
