Job program becomes powerful rural youth retention tool

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

A major Saskatchewan hog producer is learning that you reap what you sow when it comes to youth retention.

Big Sky Farms of Humboldt has an innovative summer job program that has created three dozen positions for young people looking for employment in their home communities.

"We know that a locally based job is a powerful tool for retaining young people in rural communities," said Big Sky Farms President and Chief Executive Officer Florian Possberg.

"We hope that, by creating a few dozen summer placements in our operations, we can contribute to sustaining the communities our barns operate in," he added. "At the same time, by offering students employment, we can identify potential employees and leaders of tomorrow."

That strategy is now starting to pay off.

Four of the summer placements have turned into full-time employees, and another summer student is considering a full-time job offer. In previous years, students who worked at Big Sky barns while pursuing a degree or diploma later chose to join the company full-time, returning to rural communities upon graduation.

"Some of them now include barn managers, training co-ordinators, senior production managers, herd health technicians and production technicians," explained Denys Robidoux, the Vice-President of Human Relations for Big Sky.

Thirty-four of the positions are in Saskatchewan communities, with the remaining two in southern Manitoba.

Five local students have been hired at barns in the Porcupine Plain area. Another five are working at barns in the Rama district. Other communities in east-central Saskatchewan hosting Big Sky summer students are: Humboldt (two posts), Kelvington (two posts), Melville (one post), Preeceville (one post), Quill Lake (one post), St. Denis (two posts), Sturgis (one post) and Theodore (two posts).

Barns in central and western Saskatchewan account for 13 of the summer job placements. Three students (including one student who has become a full-time employee) are working at the Great West barn near Broderick. Another student is working in the Melville area, two have been placed in the Ogema facility, two are at Riverhurst, two are at Rosthern (including one full-time employee), one at Shaunavon and one at Strasbourg.

In addition to the local students who secure summer work at Big Sky operations, the company has also introduced the prairie farming lifestyle to students from Germany and France. This is the third year that the company has hosted a student from the Lycee College in France.

Students joining the Big Sky team undergo an intensive and wide-ranging student orientation and training program that includes an overview of the hog industry and where Big Sky, as the third largest hog producer in Canada, fits into the industry.

The orientation also covers production techniques and targets, as well as occupational health and safety rules, the company's management trainee program and career development opportunities within Big Sky Farms.

For more information, contact:

Denys Robidoux, Vice-President, Human Resources
Big Sky Farms, Humboldt
Phone: (306) 682-5041