fr

Summer Update 2024

2024 - 09 - 16 Outreach

 

As summer comes to an end, we wanted to update you on what our team has been working on and what you can expect from us this fall.

Regional reports launch

One of our main priorities has been launching the second edition of our regional employment profiles for English speakers. These reports cover the employment landscape across all 17 regions of Québec, offering insights into the economic challenges and opportunities that English-speaking communities face throughout Québec. 

Our latest edition of these reports compares the most recent 2021 Canadian Census data with our previous analysis of the 2016 economic vitality stats. We also dug deeper and included qualitative data gained through interviews with community members and employment service providers. We hope these reports raise awareness and facilitate discussions between English-language employment service providers, local businesses, government representatives, and community organizations about the pragmatic solutions needed to address the labour market challenges English speakers face in their regions.

To make this happen, we reached out to our members and regional partners for a series of launch events. To date, we have held events in two regions: 

You can access the webinars from these events here (French Only), and the Côte-Nord report is available here. You can expect the release of the Chaudiere-Appalache report in November 2024.

Here is the list of regional report launches currently planned for the fall:

New initiatives

As our research team has been hard at work producing high-quality research, our engagement team has been developing new partnerships and laying the groundwork for two exciting projects that seek to improve the integration, retention and advancement of English speakers in Québec’s labour market. 

  • PERT’s mentorship and networking initiative seeks to pair English speakers with French-speaking professionals to help improve their confidence in their use of French in the workforce. For more information on the Mentorship initiative, click here.
  • The second is a pilot project that aims to help employers access and implement a variety of French support programs that will position them to better retain and hire English speakers in their organizations. For more information on the employer’s initiative, click here.

Eastern Townships Tour

Earlier this month, our Executive Director, Nicholas Salter took a trip to the Eastern Townships for a discussion with our partners at the Townshippers’ Association about working together on the launch of an exciting initiative. They also discussed employment challenges for English speakers in the region and the ways in which our organisations could most effectively work together to address them.

While in the region, Nicholas also met with Katie Lowry of Phelps Helps, who highlighted the unique educational and employment challenges faced by the rural community of Stanstead. The resilience and efficacy of Phelps Helps was particularly inspiring and insightful. 

Meeting with government

More recently, Nicholas and our President James Hughes met with Minister Eric Girard to explore the steps the government can take to unlock the economic potential of English-speaking communities across the province. They discussed the need to include specific strategies for English speakers in the government’s action plans on poverty, employment, and the protection of the French language. They also highlighted the importance of the development of a positive vision for how English speakers can contribute to the future of Québec. We look forward to further opportunities to engage with the government on behalf of our community. 

Challenges for the fall

Over the last month, budget deficits, language policy, and access to language learning opportunities have been a recurring topic in the news. We’ve seen a reduction in the number of Francisation courses offered by Québec’s centres de services scolaires, followed by the revocation of financial assistance for individuals taking part-time French courses. Meanwhile, demand for French language learning services is at an all-time high. We expect that these cuts will further exacerbate existing issues related to accessing these programs. 

Overcoming these issues will require innovative approaches to publicly funded language learning services. You can expect PERT to be an active voice of English speakers in discussions around the ways to improve language learning opportunities in Québec. Our soon-to-be-published studies on adult language learning User Journeys of Language Learners Navigating Québec’s French-Language Training Ecosystem and Understanding Learning Timelines for Adults in Second Language Training will help frame our advice to the government on how best to structure their language learning resources to ensure they are accessible, practical and effective.

It’s been a busy summer, and we certainly have our work cut out for us in the fall, but we are very much looking forward to sharing our work with you all in the coming months. In the meantime, you can check out our upcoming events and webinars, and if you haven’t already, you can sign up for our newsletter to be the first to learn about our future projects and opportunities to get involved.