Quebec investing $3.9B to tackle labour shortage in certain sectors

MONTREAL -

Quebec is investing $3.9 billion to address the labour shortage in hopes of adding 170,000 workers in certain prioritized sectors.

Premier François Legault, Labour Minister Jean Boulet and Higher Education Minister Danielle McCann unveiled the details of this `Operation main-d'ôeuvre' at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

The government said the program was established in "a context of accelerated aging of the population combined with vigorous economic growth," a challenge it believes Quebec will face for the next 10 years.

Among the government's objectives is the integration of 60,000 additional qualified people into the essential public sectors of health and social services, education and child care.

The government has also identified three sectors that it considers "strategic" for the Quebec economy and that offer well-paying jobs: information technology, engineering and construction. Quebec wants to add a total of 110,000 skilled workers in these sectors.

Quebec plans to help Quebecers develop their skills "by making training in these fields more attractive, notably through financial support and work-study approaches.

The government will also rely on the regionalization of immigration to meet the labour needs throughout Quebec.

- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Nov. 30, 2021.