Green Job Gives Youth Employment Opportunity In Small Saskatchewan Town

Canadian Parks & Recreation Association
/January 29, 2025

Shane Losie comes from a small town in Saskatchewan and enjoys being home – where he is surrounded by friends and family.  

However, finding employment in the Village of Loreburn, his hometown, has been difficult for the social work student currently attending school in Saskatoon. That all changed in the summer of 2024, when Losie was hired as a parks and trails maintenance worker for the Prairie Sky Trails Association – an opportunity made possible by the CPRA Green Jobs Initiative, which is funded by the Government of Canada’s Youth Employment Skills Strategy program. 

“The Green Jobs initiative helped me find a job near home, and without it, I would have had to stay in Saskatoon and find fulltime employment, which right now can be really hard,” he says. “Finding employment around home is also very hard because of limited opportunities. This helped me overcome that barrier.” 

As a parks and trails maintenance worker, Losie worked at Sunset Beach at Lake Diefenbaker, a lakeside community maintained by the Prairie Sky Trails Association – a non-profit dedicated to enhancing and developing trails, public parks, and green spaces across Saskatchewan.  

In his role, Losie identified jobs that had to be done daily throughout the community – such as green space maintenance, weed control, and planting trees – and led a team of employees who helped him complete these tasks. 

He says the job taught him a variety of valuable skills, such as how to work with different machinery, that he can use in the future. 

For instance, Losie learned leadership skills, particularly in organization. “Running a team was something I had never done before, and I learned that you have to stay organized,” he explains.  

A big part of the job, he adds, was regularly communicating with his supervisor and the rest of the team – which taught him communication skills. 

He says these experiences were invaluable and will help him lead a successful career as a social worker. 

“As a social worker, I want to run a lot of programs in communities,” he says. “The skills I learned in this job – such as communication, leadership, and organization – are all going to be really key for running a program.” 

Ashley Demers, project manager and summer student manager for the Prairie Sky Trails Association, managed Losie and provided informal mentorship. 

She says the Green Jobs initiative allowed the organization to have the necessary resources to hire a youth like Losie, who is highly qualified. 

“The summer student team is so central to our operations, and the Green Jobs initiative directly supports our ability to bring green projects and programming to our community spaces in rural Saskatchewan,” Demers says. 

She adds that Losie was a natural leader and was a wonderful addition to the team. 

“Shane was willing to engage and complete whatever task was in front of him, which motivated our entire summer student team,” Demers says. “As he became more involved, his leadership qualities began to shine. His intelligence, passion for the environment, and natural ability to guide and inspire others made him a great fit for our organization.” 

As his employer, Demers has no doubt that the Saskatchewan youth will succeed as a social worker – and is proud that the Prairie Sky Trails Association could help him refine his skills as he embarks on his career. 

“He’s only 19 years-old, so his ability to succeed in such a leadership role was admirable,” she says. “He’s obviously going to excel in his professional and academic pursuits going forward.” 

The impact of the Green Jobs Initiative extends far beyond just summer employment—it equips youth like Losie with the skills, confidence, and experience needed to thrive in their future careers.  

By providing hands-on learning opportunities in rural communities, the program not only supports local green spaces but also fosters the next generation of leaders in environmental stewardship and community development. Thanks to this initiative, Losie gained invaluable leadership, communication, and organizational skills that will serve him well as a future social worker—demonstrating how Green Jobs creates lasting benefits for both individuals and communities. 

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