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QUEBEC — Premier François Legault said 2,800 people had already registered for accelerated construction training Tuesday morning, a day after he announced the program that will pay people to get trained in the trades.
“We need more people in construction,” Legault said during a brief press scrum on Tuesday at the National Assembly. But it’s not enough, according to him. “We need to increase that,” he added.
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The day before, Legault said he wanted to make a “big move” to alleviate the labour shortage plaguing the construction industry.
He explained that personnel needs are considerable because of numerous current and future projects, whether for schools, roads, or even Hydro-Québec works.
As of January, rapid and paid training will be offered in five trades: carpenter, excavator operator, heavy equipment operator, tinsmith and refrigeration engineer.
Interested people have until Dec. 15 to register for the courses, which lead to an attestation of professional studies (AEP) and whose duration will vary from four to six months (500 to 700 hours).
They will receive $750 per week.
Furthermore, those who enrol in comparable programs leading to a professional studies diploma (DEP) could obtain a scholarship of $9,000 to $15,000 upon graduation.
The government will also increase the capacity of the DEPs for electricity and plumbing and heating, where there are currently waiting lists.
Together, these measures represent an investment of $300 million. The government hopes to recruit 4,000 to 5,000 people capable of working on construction sites by the summer of 2024.
The Legault government’s initiative was well received by the Association de la construction du Québec (ACQ), in particular, while construction unions said they feared shoddy work from insufficiently trained workers, as well as a potential health and safety problem.
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