The National School of Furniture and Cabinetmaking (ENME), located at 5445 Avenue de Lorimier in Montreal, will close its doors in 2027, the management of the Cégep de Victoriaville, which oversees the facility, said on Monday. Staff and students are in shock.
Recruitment challenges, relative financial issues and maintaining state-of-the-art equipment may explain the difficult decision, according to company management.
“This is an important page in the history of the Cégep that is being turned and it is a difficult decision,” summarized Denis Deschamps, general director of the Cégep de Victoriaville.
“We are aware of the impact this decision will have in several ways, particularly for the employees of the Montreal campus who have developed a strong sense of belonging there,” he continued.
The resolution confirming the sale of the building at 5445 Avenue De Lorimier was adopted by the members of the Board of Directors on February 19th. Photo Francis Halin
Lack of income
After four years of “approaching the Ministry of Higher Education and the Cégep and ENME partners” to find ways to increase revenue, the Cégep de Victoriaville claims to have not found a solution to save its coffers.
Note that this closure affects the National School of Furniture and Cabinetmaking (ENME) and not the Montreal School of Furniture Trades (EMMM), which continues its activities as normal, providing Bombardier with “the vast majority of our important cabinetmaking succession.” supplied.
“Bombardier will maintain its relations with the Cégep directly in Victoriaville, from where we annually welcome some method agents to support the carpentry operations,” Bombardier’s Marie-Andrée Charron told the Journal.
Students and staff in shock
The day after the announcement, Tuesday lunchtime, the students caught by Le Journal in the cafeteria had long faces.
“It's a shock. I find that very unfortunate,” laments 19-year-old Nicolas Guichard, who is taking his second lesson in carpentry at the National School of Furniture and Cabinetmaking (ENME).
Samuel Tétreault, shopkeeper at ENME Photo Francis Halin
“It was an experience to spend time here with all the passion and creativity. Something happened in this school,” said Samuel Tétreault, 39, a shopkeeper at ENME and a graduate of the institution.
“It's an accounting decision,” said Louis-Philippe Vromet, a shopkeeper and graduate of the school just a stone's throw from him.
Photo Francis Halin
“It's pathetic. We're shooting ourselves in the foot in the long run, that's for sure. We have to start all over again when everyone has gone their separate ways. This is sad,” he concluded.
Highlights
Furniture and carpentry technology graduates can work in the production of residential, office or hotel furniture. They also have the skills to work in architectural carpentry to design and create furniture, cabinets and even wooden ceilings.
-In collaboration with Martin Jolicoeur
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