The Legault government wants to repeat the success of accelerated training for beneficiary attendants in the construction field. A new paid study program lasting a few months will, he hopes, train 4,000 to 5,000 workers by next summer.
François Legault and three ministers made the announcement with great fanfare on Monday on the construction site of a secondary school near the old zoological garden.
“We’re working on bringing more people to you!” » said the Prime Minister to the workers of the EBC firm present on site for the press conference.
The new Attestation of Vocational Studies (AEP) will be offered for five construction trades: carpenter, tinsmith, refrigeration engineer and excavator and heavy equipment operator.
New recruits have until December 15 to register for this new program for which they will be paid $750 per week.
The government estimates that there is a shortage of 6,500 workers in the construction industry in Quebec. He hopes to recruit between 4,000 and 5,000 with this initiative which will cost the public treasury 300 million.
Construction unions skeptical
Welcomed by the manufacturers, the announcement was however received with skepticism by the unions. “We are going to cannibalize all the other professions with this,” lamented the general director of FTQ-Construction, Éric Boisjoli.
The Quebec Construction Association (ACQ) does not share this opinion. Its spokesperson, Guillaume Houle, doubts that workers currently employed on construction sites are ready to abandon a salary of $40 per hour for the $25 per hour of training. “We think it will bring a different clientele that we are not currently targeting. »
Lasting 500 to 700 hours, the new program is approximately three times less expensive than that of the regular professional diploma offered in construction.
To those who say that new graduates will be underqualified, Labor Minister Jean Boulet noted that currently 89% of people entering the five professions concerned are without training.
More details will follow.