QUEBEC
Partenariat régional d’intégration de la main-d’oeuvre en secteur manufacturier (PRIMOM - Regional Partnership for the Integration of Workers in Manufacturing) and Fabrique ta carrière (Manufacture your career), Région de l’Estrie (Eastern Townships Region), Quebec
PURPOSE: The measures deployed are mainly intended to attract students to targeted vocational and technical programs, integrate them into the work environment during their education and provide them with a job in the region once they graduate.
Description of the problem requiring a solution: ensure a skilled workforce in sufficient quantity to meet the manufacturing needs of the Estrie (Eastern Townships) region.
MINISTRY
The PRIMOM project brings together partners from the Estrie region, in the education field, the employment sector, the Estrie manufacturing sector and the main central labour organizations. More specifically, the manufacturing enterprises are represented by the Maison régionale de l’industrie (MRI). Among the education partners are Cégep de Sherbrooke, the region’s four school boards, the Table estrienne de concertation formation-emploi (TECFE - Estrie job training concerted action table), Emploi-Québec Estrie and the Carrefours Jeunesse Emploi de l’Estrie (Estrie youth employment centres) from the employment sector.
DESCRIPTION
The PRIMOM project began in spring 2007 with a study conducted of 67 manufacturing enterprises in the region, thanks to financial support from the MRI and the TECFE. Due to the active participation of the enterprises and all the partners involved, youth and adult clienteles can be attracted and accept to enroll in training programs that are in demand on the labour market but less popular with students.
The partners have changed their approach, particularly to offer updated training and favour the development of the succession in the manufacturing sector. Several measures are applied to attract youth and adults to these programs and create dynamism around manufacturing jobs, such as:
• observation internships in work environments to validate a career choice;
• work-college studies coexistence program and pairing of two students holding a full-time position half-time each;
• in-company demonstrations of certain processes;
• offer of workshops on employment and training in the manufacturing field;
• new businesses offering in-company internships under a trainer’s guidance.
RESULTS
PRIMOM has generated very positive spinoffs since it was established. The number of enrollments is up significantly in three of the nine programs concerned. Over 400 students have been hired in manufacturing enterprises for summer jobs. In addition, the implementation of PRIMOM led the partners to develop an innovative formula by creating positions intended for students and allowing them, year round, to study at the same time they are working for a business and being paid. In addition, the PRIMOM project has received several awards: in 2010, the Prix d’excellence de l’administration publique (Excellence Award in Public Administration) and in 2012 the IPAC/Deloitte Public Sector Leadership Award (Bronze) in the Education category. PRIMOM excelled on that occasion among 100 cases presented from all of Canada, particularly for its daring and innovative approach, the tremendous cooperation it generated and the conclusive results it provided.
FURTHER INFORMATION
