In late 2018, the Secrétarait aux relations avec les Québécois d’expression anglaise (SRQEA) and Youth Employment Services (YES) discussed the possibility of incubating a new, independent provincial organization whose mandate was to collect information on issues of employment and employability facing the English-speaking community in Québec.

YES, as a provincial leader in providing high-quality employment services to the English-speaking community, agreed to help lead the project and assembled a group of individuals from a range of backgrounds who were interested in tackling employment issues facing the community to work on the project as a Steering Committee. Under their direction, the PERT project conducted a number of consultations to identify employment issues throughout the province, as well as held an employment conference to draft solutions to the most pressing issues which could be presented to government stakeholders.

The hard work of the Steering Committee quickly propelled the project forward, and by mid-2020 the SRQEA and YES considered the possibilities of operationalizing the organization. PERT officially incorporated in the fall of 2020, holding its first Annual General Meeting and nominating the founding Board members. Since then, PERT has moved forward with a number of initiatives, not only building its organizational capacity, but also working to develop its research, support, and engagement capabilities to adequately aid the English-speaking community.