In view of the serious labor shortage on construction sites, François Legault would like to encourage workers to move to the region and has already announced the expansion of accelerated construction training.
“We will need more people than ever in the region, so those who are already there will have work to do, then we need to convince people to move to the region because we will have a lot of work,” explained the prime ministers on Thursday, at the end of the meeting of CAQ MPs who had gathered in Sherbrooke to prepare for the start of the parliamentary term.
With its comprehensive construction industry reform, which will be tabled once political competition resumes in the National Assembly next week, the CAQ aims to ensure that major projects in the battery and hydropower sectors become a reality in Quebec.
Even if the deficits are larger than expected, construction starts must be accelerated, argues François Legault. In addition to building schools, hospitals and housing, building new dams to meet Quebec's future energy needs will require more workers in the regions.
“We expect that the projects that will be launched at Hydro-Québec in the coming years will represent a historic volume of work and will therefore require a concentrated workforce in certain regions,” emphasized François. Legault.
His Labor Minister Jean Boulet also mentioned the “battery sector”. “We must ensure that important industrial projects in the regions become reality,” he emphasized. Consider that the Swedish company Northvolt has already announced that it will need several thousand workers for its future battery factory in Montérégie.
- Listen to the section Find out everything in 24 minutes with Alexandre Moranville and Mario Dumont on QUB:
Expansion of accelerated training
The teacher strike and teacher shortage delayed the rollout of accelerated construction training courses priced at $750 per week that were scheduled to begin across the province in early January.
The Prime Minister believes that this is a very good strategy for training workers quickly. Shortened courses will therefore be extended. “Keep registering, we will continue to accelerate construction education in the coming months and then in the coming years,” he claimed.
François Legault is even considering extending financial support of $25 per hour for young people who choose to participate in the programs. “We cannot rule that out because we will need tens of thousands of additional workers in the construction industry.”
The project to modernize the construction industry is particularly aimed at dividing construction trades in order to reduce delays and reduce costs. Minister Boulet wants certain tasks from around fifteen construction trades to be shared. This reform will also address labor mobility.
Can you share information about this story?
Write to us or call us directly at 1 800-63SCOOP.