Construction | Quebec puts an end to paid training

Quebec is drawing a line under paid accelerated construction training. The Minister of Labor, Jean Boulet, indicated in an interview with The Press that there will be no new cohorts in 2025.

Less than a quarter of the budget planned for these training courses paid $750 per week has so far been spent and the number of new workers on the sites does not seem to reach the level initially hoped for. These accelerated courses allow you to obtain certificates of professional studies (AEP).

“It is not envisaged that there will be other cohorts next year,” indicated the Minister of Labor, Jean Boulet, during an interview with The Press. He maintains that the program “is giving good results to date”, but says he wants to focus on professional studies diplomas (DEP) and work-study alternation.

The “Construction Training Offensive” was supposed to make it possible to train 4,000 to 5,000 additional people in carpentry, operating construction equipment, tinsmithing and refrigeration.

People who follow these training courses, however, are not required to work on construction sites, which has been criticized by unions and opposition parties in Quebec. Some graduates also said they had difficulty finding a job because employers prefer DEP holders, which is confirmed by the Quebec Provincial Council for Construction Trades.

Mixed results

At the end of the first phase of the program which began in January 2024, 72% of the 3,854 people registered obtained their diploma. Of these graduates, approximately half (1,356 as of October 15) have received their certificate of competence from the Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ) and are working on construction sites.

For other graduates, it’s impossible to know what they decided to do. Minister Jean Boulet hopes that they will carry out “non-subject” work that does not require a CCQ card – for example, residential renovations carried out by a carpenter.

Of the 261 million over two years planned in the fall 2023 economic update to launch the Construction Training Offensive, 59 million (as of 1^is November) were paid in financial support to people who followed one or other of the four training courses, indicates a spokesperson for the Ministry of Higher Education.

The number of graduates and CCQ card holders as well as the money spent are “scalable,” underlines Mr. Boulet, since 2,038 people are registered with the AEP in carpentry and joinery as part of the second phase of the program, which is ongoing.

“A failure”

“This program is a failure. Taxpayer money was put into training without knowing if the students would go to the construction sites to actually work,” says the official opposition labor spokesperson, the liberal Madwa-Nika Cadet.

“Students said to themselves: ‘I’m going to be able to get paid to renovate the shed in my backyard,’” she adds.

“It was a bad idea basically,” reacts the spokesperson for Québec solidaire on labor matters, Alexandre Leduc. I remain stunned that the government did not stop this ridiculous waste sooner. »

The president of the Quebec Provincial Council for Construction Trades, Michel Trépanier, who represents workers in around thirty construction trades, also believes that this accelerated training program was “a false good idea” and that its interruption is “good news”.

He argues that short-term training leading to AEPs attracted people who did not necessarily intend to work in construction, while diminishing the appeal of DEP programs. “It’s reassuring if DEPs become the priority,” he says.

As for the Quebec Construction Association, which represents entrepreneurs, its spokesperson Félix Rhéaume is not surprised to learn that the training will not be renewed in 2025, given that the program was one-off.

He acknowledges that some entrepreneurs prefer a DEP holder, but adds that many others are “very satisfied” with employees who have completed one of the accelerated training courses. “We think it’s an interesting avenue that has borne some fruit,” he says. This is a step in the right direction for the four professions that were targeted. »