Ready to Work Program
Ready to Work™ – Tourism, Hospitality & Camp Services Training
Ready to Work (RTW) is a national career awareness, skills development, and transition to employment program that assists individuals in finding long-term, rewarding careers. In Saskatchewan, Ready to Work is delivered by the Saskatchewan Tourism Education Council (STEC). STEC’s unique Ready to Work delivery model has been successfully implemented in a number of sectors, including, but not limited to, tourism, construction, and mining.
The RTW program offers practical classroom instruction, hands-on skills training, and on-the-job mentoring to under-represented groups interested in transitioning from unemployment and/or underemployment to the workforce. Each RTW program is based upon national occupational standards, and is customized to meet the needs of participants and the requirements of employers. For example, Entry Level/Prep Cook and Banquet Server trainees spend time cooking and/or serving in a mock restaurant under the direction of industry certified experts and/or Journeypersons.
Since 1994, STEC has delivered the Ready to Work program in more than forty communities. Over 4,000 individuals have participated, with 80% finding long-term rewarding careers, continuing their education, and/or moving from frontline to supervisory positions.
Program Objective: The objective of this program is to develop the skills, knowledge and attitudes of each participant in order to be successful in tourism & camp services related occupations, resulting in a professionally trained workforce for sectors requiring these skills.
Program Overview: In addition to eight weeks of classroom training, this program will provide a minimum of four weeks of hands-on occupational experience giving participants the confidence they need to be ready to work.