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In 2021, when instructors in Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s Innovative Manufacturing program read an article in a national magazine about the challenges international students face in Canada, they said it gave them pause for thought. The program recently admitted international students for the first time and is in high demand from non-domestic applicants for the two-year diploma.
“Meeting the needs of international students is important to Saskatchewan Polytechnic,” said Brenda Suru, dean of Nutrien’s School of Mining, Manufacturing and Engineering Technology. “But most importantly, we are committed to working with Industry collaborates and consults to develop our programs. This way we ensure we train the right number of students, both domestic and international, to meet industry needs.”
“Our decision to open the program to international students was a well-thought-out decision,” agreed academic chair Grant Paul, who noted that graduates have good job prospects both within and outside the province. Since this is the first time the program has admitted international students, faculty reached out to the latest batch of graduates to ask about their experiences. “We asked, ‘Did they make the transition successfully? Did they find jobs in their fields?’ It’s reassuring to hear that these students are already joining the workforce and thriving, many of them right here in Saskatchewan,” Paul said. Chewan.”
International graduates of the program are offered a variety of opportunities—some go directly into industry, and some choose to further their engineering education in Canada or at home. It’s surprising how many people started their careers in the towns or areas surrounding St. Brieuc, Saskatchewan, where agricultural equipment manufacturer Bourgault Industries has its main plant.
Bourgault hired its first innovative manufacturing graduate in 2020, a Humboldt native. The company said it was so impressed with his skills and work readiness that it contacted the program and said it would welcome more applicants. Faculty took that message to the Class of 2021, and that spring, Bourgault hired nine graduates — all international students. The following year, three more international graduates went to the University of Burgo. “I think they’ll take more,” Paul said, “but most students already have their work cut out for them.”
One of the first employees, Kishan Patel, moved to Melfort from Regina, where he lived during his first year working with Burgo. “Then I moved to Saint-Brieuc,” said Patel, who spent his second year at Bourgog gaining experience that led to him being hired as a drafting technology specialist by an environmental services company in Regina. “Innovative Manufacturing taught me about design and manufacturing. It was both practical and theory-based, so I gained a lot of practical experience, which I was then able to build on in my role at Burgo.”
Kelsey Doepker, who works in human resources at Burgott, has been cultivating relationships that are a win-win for businesses and the graduates they hire. “The program invited us to present to the class of 2022,” she explained. “English. Brieux is 280 kilometers from Regina, which creates recruitment challenges. We are willing to go the extra mile to support our international employees in obtaining permanent residency, which makes sense and they are willing to move to Regina outside of larger urban centers like Nassau or Saskatoon.”
Burgau manufactures its machinery from start to finish, producing all parts for air hoes, seed drills, fertilizer spreaders and other professional agricultural equipment. “Most of our new employees start out making parts,” Doepker said. “Innovative Manufacturing graduates are equipped to operate our laser cutters, press brakes, lathes, punches and other tools. Some of our new hires started out as machinists. There is also a design element to Innovative Manufacturing and some have progressed to… This type of location.”
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