(Quebec) In the context of a labor shortage, the lack of availability and accessibility of Quebec government francization programs is detrimental to Anglophones who wish to improve their French in order to enter the job market, stay there or progress in their career.
Posted at 4:36 p.m.
According to the Provincial Round Table on Employment (PERT, from the English name Provincial Employment District), this problem “only worsens the labor shortage” in Quebec, particularly in regions where the unemployment rate is higher in English-speaking communities.
The organization, funded by the Secretariat for Relations with English-Speaking Quebecers, published a study this week taking stock of the availability of francization programs in the workforce. In interview with The Pressits director general, Nicholas Salter, deplored that the francization courses offered by Quebec are very often badly advertised, or quite simply inaccessible for candidates who are not of immigrant origin.
“English-speaking Quebecers, despite increasing bilingualism year after year, have challenges with French. We conducted a survey where 67% of respondents indicated that their French skills were the main obstacle to employment,” he said.
Current programs, Mr. Salter added, “do not meet the needs of English-speaking Quebecers who want to enter, stay or progress in the job market. […] The system must be improved to give people the opportunity to learn French outside of school”.
Regional disparities
In its report, the PERT also deplores that “few programs are offered in regions with a high unemployment rate among English-speaking communities”, particularly on the North Shore, in Gaspésie and the Magdalen Islands, but also in northern Quebec.
“At the provincial level, English-speaking Quebecers have an unemployment rate of 8.9%, which is 2% higher than the unemployment rate for French-speaking Quebecers (6.9%). On average, English-speaking Quebecers earn $2,795 less than French-speakers,” the organization also points out.
“In Quebec, if you want to learn French, it should be easy. We are asking for more programs and a better system to make them more accessible and better known,” said Nicholas Salter.
Francization Quebec
The Legault government is well aware of the current limits of francization courses. In its voluminous reform of Bill 101, Bill 96, Quebec proposes to create Francisation Quebec. This new branch of the state would have the mandate “to offer French learning services, among other things within companies, for people who are not able to use” French. These services would be accessible in particular to English-speaking Quebecers.
However, PERT regrets that the study of the bill, which has still not been completed in parliamentary committee, focuses more on “coercive and punitive” measures for citizens who do not speak French, rather than on the strategy of the government to create and deploy Francization Québec.
“We want to be part of the solution, but we lack information to know if Francisation Québec will meet our needs,” lamented Mr. Salter, who urges the government to include English-speaking community organizations to better organize and promote francization programs.
Currently, according to PERT, “English-speaking Quebecers have a significantly higher unemployment rate than Francophones in the regions of the Capitale-Nationale (7.9%), Abitibi-Témiscamingue (12.6 %), in Nord-du-Québec (16.6%), in Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine (22.1%) and on the Côte-Nord (25.5%)”.