The glaring labor needs in all regions are prompting Quebec to turn more to foreign students in order to fill the thousands of vacant positions.
To attract a greater number of foreign students, the Legault government will target the wallet. He will offer them next year to come and settle in Quebec at a much lower cost, by cutting the high tuition fees they must currently pay.
But to take advantage of the program, they will have to meet two essential conditions: forget the CEGEPs and universities of Montreal, French and English, by enrolling in a French-speaking higher education institution located in the regions, while choosing a program that is part of the sectors of activity where the labor shortage is the greatest.
Quebec wants to kill two birds with one stone: meet labor needs in the regions and attract immigrants from Montreal.
The reasoning is as follows: a foreigner who studies for a few years in Rimouski, Saguenay or Sherbrooke runs the risk of settling there permanently.
“You discover a community. You make yourself a boyfriend, you make yourself a blonde, ”illustrated the Minister of Labor and Immigration, Jean Boulet, Thursday, while announcing the program, at a press conference in Rimouski.
The program will be available from September 2023 and will not be retroactive. For Quebec, the bill is estimated at $80 million in four years.
For example, currently, the average annual cost for an international student is close to $17,000 at the college level and some $24,000 at the undergraduate level.
From the entry into force of the measure, scheduled for the fall of 2023, and until their graduation, eligible foreign students will pay the same basic tuition fees annually as Quebecers, i.e. no college fees, and approximately 3,000 $ in college.
The priority study sectors will be information technologies, engineering, health and social services, as well as the field of education, including the training of early childhood educators.
The program announced Thursday will be “a winner in terms of promoting the learning of French and, consequently, ensuring a lasting integration into the values of our society”, commented Minister Boulet, who promises future foreign students “personalized support” to facilitate their integration in Quebec, in terms of finding accommodation, for example.