The accelerated and paid construction training courses so dear to the Legault government are victims of the shortage of teachers. A course has already been canceled due to lack of teachers.
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The lack of personnel in the Education network does not spare Quebec’s offensive aimed at recruiting 4,000 to 5,000 workers by the summer to work on construction sites.
The short course paid $750 per week leading to the certificate of professional studies (AEP) in operating construction equipment will ultimately not be offered in Val-d’Or. The training of 36 students was scheduled to begin in early January.
“Due to a lack of teaching staff at our partner, we had to cancel this program,” explains Caroline Neveu, communications coordinator at the Or-et-des-Bois School Service Center. The students were referred to other professional training centers in Quebec offering a similar program.
Disappointment among students
A young man who had registered for the course deplored this unfortunate outcome. “I am extremely disappointed. I already had entrepreneurs interested in my services,” says the aspiring student, who wishes to remain anonymous. He maintains that he was not referred in any way to other establishments providing the accelerated training he was targeting.
After beneficiary attendants during the pandemic, it is the turn of construction workers to benefit from a paid fast track to compensate for the lack of labor on construction sites.
But unlike PABs, who had to commit to working for at least one year in a CHSLD, people who graduate from accelerated construction training have no obligation to join the industry at the end of their course.
The accelerated training paid at $25 per hour targets five trades: carpenter, tinsmith, refrigeration engineer, shovel and heavy equipment operator. Quebec also offers graduation scholarships to new apprentice workers in programs leading to a professional studies diploma (DEP) in the five targeted fields.
Nearly 47,000 admission applications were submitted before Christmas. Our Parliamentary Office is still waiting for a complete picture of the situation from the Ministry of Education in order to find out more about the start of accelerated training across Quebec.
Summary of applications for admission to paid accelerated training
Study program Attestation of professional studies (AEP)
Admission applications submitted
- AEP – Carpentry-joinery: 16,791
- AEP – Driving construction equipment: 17,327
- AEP – Tinsmith: 3431
- AEP – Refrigeration: 9432
Total: 46,981
Study program Professional studies diploma (DEP)
Admission applications submitted
- DEP – Carpentry-joinery: 1258 N/A
- DEP – Driving construction machinery: 375
- DEP – Tinsmith: 174
- DEP – Refrigeration: 242
- DEP – Electricity: 1735
- DEP – Plumbing and heating: 549
Total: 4333
Source: Ministry of Education data as of December 15, 2023