Immigrants to the French-speaking province of Quebec who are willing to settle outside of Montreal can get specialized help finding jobs. The federation of chambers of commerce in Quebec set up a program in November 2018 providing several services and counsellors to newcomers. The program is called Un emploi en sol québécois or, in English, A Job in Quebec, and is run in French.
Immigrant Thierry Ngalley explains that he had obtained a few jobs after arriving in Quebec but none of them were in his field of expertise in accounting and finance. With the help of the program, he was finally able to get a job as a financial advisor with the large co-operative bank, Caisse Desjardins in Saint-Hyacinthe, 58 km east of Montreal. “Many immigrants tend to want to stay in the big cities but the job market is there is often saturated,” says Ngalley in a video. “There are more opportunities in the regions and life there is calmer and more peaceful.”
Michael Bosala landed a job as a laboratory technician in geochemistry for the ALS company in Val-d’Or, 525 km northwest of Montreal. (Michael Bosala Entombo)
Program helps immigrants overcome obstacles
The program advises people on how to prepare for their job search, where to look and how to best have their experience recognized. This is often an obstacle for immigrants who may have formal certificates or degrees from other countries that are not recognized in Canada. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the program has arranged for job applicants to meet with potential employers online.
So far, 106 immigrants have successfully found jobs through the program and have accepted them. More than 1,000 immigrants have participated in the program, as have 837 employers. The program is funded by the government of the province of Quebec.
Video from La Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec/YouTube
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