Attracting and Retaining Indigenous Talent
Attracting and retaining Indigenous talent is about building a workforce where Indigenous employees can thrive, lead, and shape the future of health care.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) is committed to:
- Hiring, growing and advancing Indigenous talent in our workforce.
- Creating safe workplaces where Indigenous employees feel respected and valued.
- Growing a strong Indigenous workforce that helps make care more welcoming and culturally safe.
How can we attract Indigenous talent, and why does it matter to our organization and communities?
When Indigenous voices, perspectives, and ways of knowing are reflected across our workforce, it enriches how we care, connect, and lead. Focusing on attracting and retaining Indigenous talent is about honouring these strengths, creating space for Indigenous employees to thrive, and ensuring our workplaces reflect respect, belonging, and cultural understanding. By doing this, we strengthen our teams, enhance the care we provide, and contribute to healthier, more connected communities.
At SHA, this means attracting Indigenous talent, creating environments where people feel valued and supported, and enabling long‑term career growth and leadership. This is not only about recruitment. It’s about belonging, culture, and retention.
As leaders in healthcare we all have a role to play in:
- Attracting Indigenous Talent
- Hiring in a Culturally Safe Way
- Fostering Belonging and Retention
- Supporting Growth and Leadership
From Knowledge to Practice
Turning Our Commitment into Action
Resource | Author | Description | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indigenous Works | View upcoming and past Thought Leadership Webinars to help build stronger and more inclusive workplaces. Individuals can create an account and join monthly seminars using SHA's unique code 20OCT26SHA25+ Then Login to the Leadership Circle and explore all the Learning Lodge has to offer. | Various, at your own pace. |
| Barriers and Solutions to Indigenous Employment | Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. | Readers will learn that effective Indigenous recruitment and retention require understanding and addressing both systemic and practical barriers—from education and discrimination to transportation and childcare—through partnership, cultural awareness, and targeted supports | 5 - 10 min read |
| Barriers to Indigenous Employment - Part 2 | Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. | Readers will learn that removing practical barriers—such as access to driver training and licensing—can significantly improve employment opportunities for Indigenous peoples and strengthen recruitment efforts, especially in remote communities. | 5-10 min read |
| Research Knowledge Nest | Indspire | Explore Indspires Research Knowledge Nest and numerous studies that provide insight into success for Indigenous employees. | Various, at your own pace |
| Indigenous Teachings for Leaders | Workplace Strategies for Mental Health - Canada Life | Elders and colleagues explain how the Seven Sacred Teachings and the Medicine Wheel can benefit work culture and employees at all levels. These teachings can be used to encourage employee confidence, engagement and well-being in any work environment. | ~ 60 mins plus additional workshop options |
| Indigenous Engagement Planning | Workplace Strategies for Mental Health - Canada Life | Learn from others who have successfully engaged the Indigenous community through recruiting and collaboration. | ~ 60 mins plus additional workshop options |
| Pathways for Healthcare Organizations to Strengthen Indigenous Nurse Retention | Longwoods - Nursing Leadership | Readers will learn that Indigenous nurse retention is strengthened when healthcare organizations actively address systemic barriers, embed cultural safety, elevate Indigenous leadership, and create workplace structures grounded in reconciliation and Indigenous ways of knowing. | 20 min read |
| Indigenous Attraction, Recruitment & Retention Strategy Tool | United Way East Ontario in collaboration with Kagita Mikam Aboriginal Employment & Training Inc., Tungasuvvingat Inuit | The document serves as a guide to help organizations create more inclusive and culturally sensitive policies and procedures to attract, recruit and retain more Indigenous people into workplaces. | 15 min read |
Resource | Author | Description | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indigenous Inclusion in Employment | Robline Davey, Thompson Rivers University, Pressbooks | This chapter describes the Canadian employment context as it relates to the Truth and Reconciliation (TRC) Commission Calls to Action (CTA), specifically #92 that calls for reconciliation in the workplace, including improved intercultural skills for employees and administration. Includes tools and exercises. | At your own pace |
| Indigenous Employee Experience Strategy - Weaving an Organizational Approach, 2024-2029 | Interior Health, British Columbia | Driven by engagement with Indigenous staff, the strategy weaves external calls for change with internal approaches to build organizational capacity and create a positive employment experience for Indigenous job seekers, candidates, and employees | 40 min read |
| Indigenous Employee Experience | Interior Health, Interior Voices Podcast | Podcast hosts discuss ways to positively support Indigenous employees at Interior Health (IH). | 58 min podcast |
| Indigenous Recruitment and Retention in Remote Canada | Conference Board of Canada | This report presents 12 recommendations for employers looking to improve their recruitment and retention efforts in Canada’s Northern and remote regions. While the report focuses broadly on employers operating in Northern and remote Canada, many of its findings align closely SHA priorities around Indigenous health, workforce development, recruitment, retention, and reconciliation. | Exec Summary 10–15 minutes Exec Summary + Recs (pages 100–107): 20–30 minutes Key chapters on barriers, recruitment, retention, and best practices: 60–90 minutes |
| Tips for Recruiting an Indigenous Workforce | Indigenous Chamber of Commerce | The article reinforces that Indigenous recruitment is not simply a hiring activity—it is a relationship-building and reconciliation activity that requires intentional, respectful engagement. | 5 mins |
| Indigenous Health Professional Retention and Recruitment Toolkit | SE Health First Nations, Inuit and Metis team | Readers will learn practical, culturally informed strategies for recruiting, onboarding, and retaining Indigenous healthcare professionals while creating culturally safe and inclusive workplaces. The toolkit was developed to support organizations in increasing Indigenous representation in healthcare and advancing Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action related to Indigenous health workforce development. | At own pace |
| Building Trust with Indigenous Employees: The Indigenous Workways Toolkit | Edited by Catherine T. Kwantes; Wendi L. Adair; Leanne Gosse; and Russell Nahdee | This comprehensive toolkit is designed to help organizations in Canada build trust and create more inclusive work environments for their Indigenous employees. The toolkit consists of two main components: Employee Training Modules and Organizational Resources. By providing both individual-focused training and organizational-level tools, this resource empowers employers to foster meaningful, trusting relationships with their Indigenous employees. | At own pace |
Resource | Author | Description | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inclusive Futures: Indigenous engagement in Canada's workforce | Action Canada Policy Paper | This report examines four interlinked factors that contribute to Indigenous inclusion in the labour force and which are incorporated into a suggested framework for developing a tool to measure how inclusive an organization’s workplace is. | 30 mins |