City hall forges ties with Indigenous school

Agreement with SIIT to help career goals of students

The City of Saskatoon continues to partner with educational institutions.

City council is scheduled to vote Monday on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies (SIIT).

Council approved talks between city hall administration and officials at SIIT and the Gabriel Dumont Institute of Native Studies and Applied Research on an MOU in December.

The move mirrors a pact for greater co-operation the city struck in the fall with the University of Saskatchewan that was touted as the first of its kind in Canada.

The agreement with SIIT is aimed at providing better career potential for the institute’s students and helping the city reach its Indigenous employment goals. The city’s workforce included 7.2 per cent Indigenous employees in 2016, about halfway to the city’s goal of 14 per cent, and a decline from 2015.

The city report explaining the intent of the MOU calls SIIT a “key educator” in Saskatoon and says the city and SIIT can explore initiatives like internships. SIIT is located downtown on Fourth Avenue, a few blocks from city hall.

If council approves the agreement with SIIT, as expected, it would mark the third MOU finalized by the current council.

The city also struck an MOU with the Saskatoon Tribal Council in November to co-operate on building a hydroelectric facility at the weir in the South Saskatchewan River.