Workers facing the announcement of a mass layoff may soon receive a visit from a team from the Construction Commission, with the aim of redirecting them to this industry.
The Construction Commission (CCQ), supported by the Ministry of Employment, is launching a new service called Guichet orientation construction.
It is aimed at workers affected by collective layoffs of at least 50 people, particularly those caused by the imposition of customs duties.
When a collective layoff is announced, the Ministry of Employment is automatically notified, Minister Pascale Déry explained in an interview.
“Our agents at Emploi Québec are accustomed to deploying redeployment assistance committees. They have the expertise to support all laid-off workers. If we can achieve better networking and a coordinated strategy to facilitate the transfer of personnel from affected sectors to opportunities in the construction sector, I think that’s a good thing,” she said.
A CCQ team will therefore visit companies that announce such layoffs and are likely to employ workers with manual skills or relevant training.
“I am putting together a multidisciplinary team that is capable of informing, studying, guiding, and even, on site, giving a good idea of the conditions for success in obtaining a certificate of competence” in construction, explained CCQ President and CEO Audrey Murray in an interview.
“There will be face-to-face or virtual meetings with the affected employees. We will gather information to identify training needs, skills enhancement, and other relevant information. We will analyze this information with a multidisciplinary team at the CCQ and send personalized communications to identify possible pathways and prerequisites. We will follow up. Ultimately, the goal is to ensure that these individuals obtain an apprentice competency certificate and can join our industry,” summarized Minister of Labor Jean Boulet.
Murray indicates that the Construction Commission has estimated the industry’s needs across Quebec at 16,000 workers per year from 2025 to 2029 to fill vacancies, retirements, and additions made necessary by announced construction projects.
Certain trades are in particularly high demand, such as carpenters and electricians, for example.
Although this new service is intended for workers who have been laid off as part of mass layoffs of at least 50 people due to customs duties, other employees will not be left behind, Minister Boulet assures us.
“Our Construction Career Guidance Service is primarily aimed at people affected by collective layoffs resulting from tariffs, but that doesn’t mean we’re leaving others behind. All other programs remain in place as well,” Boulet insisted.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
