Quebec will financially support professional immigrants who need to take supplemental training, assistance that could reach up to $500 per week for professionals who follow the training full-time.

Labour Minister Jean Boulet made the announcement Tuesday at the unveiling of a new two-year, $130-million plan to accelerate and facilitate the recognition of the skills of professional immigrants.

With this plan, immigrant professionals will be better accompanied "from selection to integration" in recognizing their skills, said Boulet. He gave the example of a nurse who would like to have her skills recognized.

"She is going to have much more flexible bridging training. There's going to be a lot more of it. She will also benefit from financial assistance of $500 per week. She will also benefit from having a restrictive permit that could allow her to do her work under certain conditions or to do work that is related to her training," he said.

On hand with the minister, Gyslaine Desrosiers, president of the Quebec Interprofessional Council, said the dropout rate was 34 per cent among immigrants seeking recognition of their skills.

"Collectively, we can and must do better," she said

- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Dec. 7, 2021.