Roxane Leouzon
in Saint-Felix-de-Valois
July 10, 2023
Economy
Like every other working day, Marcelle Abdelmessih spends her early afternoon teaching French to Luis Majoral, Gustavo Pérez and Oscar Moreno. In front of large glass windows overlooking a country road, she makes them do an exercise. They must complete sentences useful to the doctor. They choose the words “fever” and “syrup” correctly.
“Do you know what syrup is?” asks the teacher.
“Maple syrup?” joked one of the students. “That’s way too sweet!” »
We are in a large Plastics GPR premises, in Saint-Félix-de-Valois, in Lanaudière. It is one of the companies that go out of their way to promote the integration of their temporary foreign workers into Quebec society, in particular by learning French within their own walls. The three Mexican fitters are paid two hours a day to gradually improve their command of the local language. They can then go downstairs to assemble, set up and program machines that mold various plastic objects.
“In a few months, I have already seen incredible progress,” says Ms. Abdelmessih, who told them about her own experience of migrating from Egypt. “It’s better that the lessons are given here, because it saves travel time. »
“When we finish the lesson, we immediately go back to the floor and use these new words,” reports Mr. Moreno in hesitant but understandable French. Le Devoir was able to speak only in French with the three workers.
Francization in business is more and more popular. According to data from the Ministry of Education, the number of companies having offered francization to their workers through educational organizations increased from 291 in 2019 to 477 in 2022. The ministry specifies that “this portrait is however partial since not all organizations complete the questionnaire”. On the side of the Ministry of Employment, it is indicated that the number of agreements for in-company training through their programs has increased from 105 in 2018 to 1088 in 2023.
With the labor shortage, Plastiques GPR was unable to find suitable candidates for this skilled trade. Like a growing number of companies, its leaders have applied to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program for positions they wish to fill permanently.
“We could see the language barrier coming. We knew that would be our biggest obstacle. They have to collaborate with their colleagues, exchange instructions, solve problems”, says the co-owner of Plastiques GPR, Dany Belleville.
Lessons before arrival
The recruitment agency consultant with whom they are doing business, Marie-Josée Hébert, suggested that they start francization remotely for six months, while they wait for the immigration process. The costs of these online courses with a private teacher were borne by the company. For example, recruiting in Mexico, including courses, cost between $12,000 and $15,000 per worker, says Belleville.
In addition, these courses made it possible to understand that one of the people recruited — there were four at the start — was not getting involved. “We ended the process. She didn’t always show up, she arrived late. So it was part of the interview process, in a way, ”says the businesswoman.
Photo: Adil Boukind Le Devoir
These three fitter-adjusters at Plastiques GPR take a francization course with their employer.They left their wives and children behind, but they wish they could join them soon.
After six months, as the government process was not yet complete, Dany Belleville’s team used their imagination to help recruits retain their skills. “We organized discussion groups with employees who volunteered. Every Tuesday evening, we called them to continue practicing French,” reports Andréanne Blais, human resources partner for the company.
When they finally arrived in Quebec last October, the newcomers knew a few words of French. On-site lessons have begun, subsidized by the Quebec Ministry of Employment and offered by the business service of the Center de services scolaire des Samares. The wages of the workers during the lessons are also reimbursed by the provincial government.
But that’s not all. Plastiques GPR also bought two houses to house them. The company accompanies them through the administrative maze, such as health insurance, driving license and opening a bank account. Ms. Belleville even followed Mr. Moreno to the hospital when he suffered from appendicitis.
A dream of life in Quebec
She therefore hopes that the three recruits, who already had experience in plastic injection, will stay in Quebec beyond their three-year contract. “Their presence allows us to better serve our customers and optimize our production,” says Ms. Belleville.
This is also the wish of the main stakeholders. “It’s the best opportunity of our lives, to work in a good company that requires our experience,” said Majoral. Quebec, Canada, is a better place than Mexico. We want to improve the life of our family. »
However, they still have some challenges to face. The three fitters have all left their wives and children behind, but wish they could join them soon. Will they be able to feel at home in this rural environment where they don’t know anyone?
“It’s very welcoming here.” The people of the village call us the tres amigos. All services are close. That’s what I tell my wife when I talk to her. She doesn’t want me to send her a video of Saint-Felix, because she wants to see everything for the first time when she arrives,” said Mr. Majoral.
To obtain permanent residence, they will have to pass a French test, which is not known to be easy. They put the odds on their side, watching movies, listening to music in French, playing Scrabble and talking in French to each other on a daily basis.
With the CAQ government’s desire to mainly promote Francophone immigration and to raise French language requirements, companies that want to keep their foreign workers will have to support them very actively, says foreign recruitment consultant Marie-Josée Hébert . “I find it hard to imagine that we will only be able to recruit in French-speaking countries,” she said.
Ms. Hébert has also convinced another Lanaudière company, Impack, to offer online pre-francization for their four recruits who are still in Mexico. This company, which manufactures machines for manufacturing cardboard packaging, has just embarked on a process similar in all respects to that of Plastiques GPR.
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