For perhaps the first time in the city of Swift Current's history, it's 'Saskatchewan Construction Week'.

The proclamation was made at city council earlier tonight for the week to run from April 18 to April 24.

A presentation was made by Ryan Tynning of Swift Plumbing & Heating Ltd., and Megan Jane and Mark Cooper of the Saskatchewan Construction Association.

"We were shocked really, at how few people recognize just how important construction is to our province, both to our economy and to our way of life," Cooper said is one of the reasons behind why they began honouring the week four years ago.

The construction industry is the second-largest private-sector employer in Saskatchewan accounting for over 42,000 workers (or eight per cent of the labour force) working for over 9,000 businesses.

The theme for this year is 'Sask Built' encouraging anyone in Saskatchewan to hire local contractors for the task instead of looking elsewhere.

"Now more than ever it's become apparent that the value of hiring local contractors because when you do that it provides job opportunities for your neighbours and friends," Cooper said. "It injects hard cash into our economy which is certainly something in a time like this that's really valuable."

He added that during the COVID-19 pandemic, zero incidents of on-site outbreaks of the virus have been reported.

And according to Tynning, the construction industry has had a better start to the 2021 year when compared to 2020.

"From what I'm seeing, I think it's substantially better than last year," he said. "I'm sure you're aware from building permits that they're not what they used to be but there does seem to be a lot of increased activity this year in comparison."