Marie-Eve Hermkens has twenty years of experience in information technology management. To alleviate labor problems, it relies, among other things, on maximizing the pool of workers and training. According to her, employers must diversify their hiring methods, show openness and promote training within their company to develop the youngest talents. Five years ago, Ms. Hermkens founded Boomrank, which connects companies, individuals and training organizations to facilitate access to employment. It also works in concert with organizations that support young dropouts or people from the prison environment who want to enter the job market. As long as all the profiles have not been exhausted, “we will have a role to play” in responding to the scarcity of labour, she says.
For its part, the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec is calling for the implementation of tax incentives to bring older experienced workers back into the labor market, for one or two days a week. As far as immigration is concerned, there is almost consensus in the business community: the thresholds must be raised and the immigration processes improved. The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal and the Federation of Quebec Chambers of Commerce are also asking that the real intake capacity of the province and the regions be quantified, particularly in terms of housing, daycare places or francization.
Claire Launay is vice-president of the organization Quebec is us too, which defends the rights and living conditions of immigrants. It abounds in the same direction. She deplores the utilitarian vision of immigration to compensate for the scarcity of labour. “They are complete human beings, not just workers who come to plug holes. Ms. Launay also calls for the improvement of immigration processes and better investment in this direction. “In immigration, Canada and Quebec are not giving themselves the means to solve the labor shortage,” she concludes.