SaskPower delivers jobs to Sandy Bay youth

SaskPower Sandy Bay Partnership expands job training for high school graduates at Island Falls Hydroelectric Station, advancing workforce development, community engagement, and local leadership through 14-month placements and collaborative selection with Hector Thiboutot Community School.

SaskPower is launching a new program that will provide term employment positions to four graduates of Sandy Bay's Hector Thiboutot Community School each year. The new grads will work at SaskPower's nearby Island Falls Hydroelectric Station, located two kilometres upriver of Sandy Bay on the Churchill River, near the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border.

"This new partnership with Hector Thiboutot Community School is just one example of SaskPower’s efforts to support demand growth and forge a stronger relationship with the residents of Sandy Bay," said Rob Norris, Minister Responsible for SaskPower.

"Providing these job opportunities to high school grads makes it more likely that they’ll stay in their home community and become the next generation of local leaders at facilities like the Queen Elizabeth Power Station expansion across Saskatchewan."

Program details are currently being finalized in partnership with the community, including criteria for program applicants. In July, SaskPower will work with Sandy Bay officials to select the inaugural candidates. The four positions at the Island Falls Hydroelectric Station, similar to opportunities on BC Hydro's John Hart project that highlight hydro careers, will last for 14 months. Currently, 23 people are employed at the hydro station.

"By offering these recent grads real-life work experience, they’ll be better qualified for permanent positions at our Island Falls hydro facility," said Robert Watson, President and CEO, SaskPower.

In addition to this new employment opportunity for Sandy Bay youth, SaskPower will continue to develop and implement initiatives, including energy efficiency in Regina programs that will help build a long-term, sustainable relationship between SaskPower and the community of Sandy Bay.

The combined generating capacity at Island Falls is 101 megawatts, while SaskPower's system-wide hydroelectric generating capacity is 853 megawatts. SaskPower has a total available generation capacity of 4,093 megawatts, supplemented by purchases from Manitoba Hydro during peak periods.

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