Quebec invests over $80 million in vocational training

‘Hooked on School’ week begins Education Minister Bernard Drainville paid visit to Beurling Academy in Verdun as Quebec kicked of ‘Hooked on School’ week.

The Quebec government will invest $81.3 million between now and 2027 in vocational training in order to fight against school dropouts, particularly in the regions.

This was announced by Education Minister Bernard Drainville on Tuesday morning, before delivering a speech to the Metropolitan Montreal Chamber of Commerce (CCMM).

"I want our young people to continue their studies and to develop in the fields they love and which are essential to the economy of Quebec. We are therefore taking concrete steps to modernize vocational training and make it even more attractive," the minister said in a news release.

This investment is part of the government's desire to graduate an additional 30,000 students in vocational training.

Before giving a speech to the CCMM, Bernard Drainville was welcomed by several union groups.

For Valentine's Day, demonstrators told the Minister of Education that "the school and college networks need love."

Many union members chanted slogans and held up signs in the shape of a heart in front of the Sheraton Centre in Montreal.

They are asking the minister to improve the working conditions of the staff of educational institutions in order to improve the learning conditions of students.

According to Mélanie Hubert, President of the Fédération autonome de l'enseignement (FAE), Drainville will have to improve conditions in the vocational training (VT) sector if he wants to attract new teachers to graduate 30,000 students over the next four years, one of his seven priorities.

"It will be necessary to convince people in shortage trades to come and teach. And to do that, we'll have to improve their working conditions, their salary, and also give them some time off in the evenings and on weekends to convince them to come and work in teaching. Then we will also have to think about qualifying these people," she said.

The union federation believes that because of "current working conditions and the shortage of teaching staff, we fear that future teachers, but also workers in the various sectors concerned, will not respond to Mr. Drainville's call."

The Minister of Education also spoke with Michel Leblanc, President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Feb. 14, 2023.