MONTREAL -- Eleven CEGEPs in the Montreal area are mobilizing to offer short-term credit development programs to quickly come to the aid of the Quebec population unemployed due to the pandemic.

The Regroupement des cegeps de Montreal (RCM) launched the initiative on Friday morning during a virtual news conference.

Twenty-seven new training courses "will allow people who have temporarily lost their jobs to improve their skills and update their skills in order to keep up with the development of their profession," an RCM news release reads.

Funded with a $1.9 million grant from the Quebec government, the first round of courses are set to begin in March or April with small classes of 15 to 18 people. 

The courses will last between two and four months, depending on the program. The programs will cover a variety of sectors such as digital marketing, food processing, administration, management and many others.

The RCM said it took into account the sectors most affected by the pandemic when it developed the program.

"By creating these new improvements, the Regroupement des cegeps de Montreal wants to help the hundreds of thousands of people who lost their jobs during the crisis by allowing them to quickly return to the job market," said RCM president Nathalie Vallee.

According to Labour Minister Jean Boulet, the program corresponds perfectly to the government's efforts to upgrade workers' skills.

"This is also a change in culture that we must make collectively, namely that of continuous training throughout professional life. It is also important that employers can continue to forge a strong and resilient labour market," said Boulet in a news release.

The refresher training courses are eligible for the Assistance Program for Stimulus Through Increased Training (PARAF), so those who take them may be eligible for an allowance of $500 per week during their training.

The RCM said many of the courses will address "the labour shortage in the manufacturing sector, as well as the needs of the wholesale and retail sectors, which have taken a significant digital turn."

Some training will be offered in French and others in English and teaching will take place in a virtual classroom, in a hybrid format and/or in person, according to the RCM news release.

Only a handful of the classes will be offered in English:

  • Business communications and related technical skills at Dawson College
  • Administrative Management of Windows at John Abbott College
  • Food Manufacturing and Processing at John Abbott College
  • Advanced Web Programming and Design at Vanier College
  • Accounting Microprogramming at Vanier College

Higher Education Minister Danielle McCann underlined the collaboration between the various CEGEPs establishments in the Montreal area.

"Ultimately, society as a whole will benefit from this collaboration," said McCann.

-- this report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 12, 2021. With files from CTV News Montreal's Gabrielle Fahmy