Like every other working day, Marcelle Abdelmessih spends her early afternoon teaching French to Luis Majoral, Gustavo Pérez and Oscar Moreno. She has them do an exercise in front of large glass windows overlooking a country road. You have to complete sentences useful for the doctor. You choose the words “fever” and “sirup” appropriately.
“Do you know what syrup is? asks the teacher.
” Maple syrup ? joked one of the students. “It’s way too sweet!” »
We are in a large Plastics GPR site in Saint-Félix-de-Valois in Lanaudière. It is one of the companies that do everything they can to promote the integration of their foreign temporary workers into Quebec society, in particular by learning French at home. The three Mexican fitters are given two hours a day to gradually improve their knowledge of the local language. They can then descend to the ground floor to assemble, set up and program machines to form various plastic objects.
“In a few months I have already seen incredible progress,” says Ms. Abdelmessih, who told them about her own migration experience from Egypt. “It’s better to do the classes here because it saves travel time. »
“When we finish the lesson, we immediately go back down and use these new words,” reports Mr. Moreno in hesitant but understandable French. Le Devoir could only speak French to the three workers.
Francisification in business is becoming increasingly popular. According to the Department of Education, the number of companies that have offered franchising to their workers through educational institutions has increased from 291 in 2019 to 477 in 2022. The Ministry points out that “however, this portrait is incomplete as not all organizations fill in the questionnaire”. 2023 has increased.
Due to the labor shortage, Plastiques GPR was not able to find suitable candidates for this skilled job. Like a growing number of companies, their executives have turned to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program for positions they want to fill permanently.
“We saw the language barrier coming. We knew this would be our biggest obstacle. They have to work together with their colleagues, exchange instructions, solve problems,” says Dany Belleville, co-owner of Plastiques GPR.
Lessons before arrival
The recruitment consultant they do business with, Marie-Josée Hébert, suggested starting franchising remotely for six months while they await the immigration process. The costs for these online courses with a private tutor were borne by the company. For example, recruitment in Mexico, including courses, costs between $12,000 and $15,000 per worker, Belleville says.
In addition, these courses made it comprehensible that one of the people recruited – at the beginning there were four – did not get involved. “We have put an end to the process. She didn’t always show up, she was late. So it was sort of part of the interview process,” says the businesswoman.
After six months, with the government process still ongoing, Dany Belleville’s team used his imagination to help recruits retain their skills. “We have organized discussion groups with volunteers. We called them every Tuesday evening so they could keep practicing French,” reports Andréanne Blais, the company’s human resources partner.
When they finally arrived in Quebec last October, the newcomers knew a few words of French. On-site classes have started, are subsidized by the Quebec Department of Labor and are 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 state government.
But that’s not all. Plastiques GPR also bought two houses to house them. The company accompanies you through the administrative jungle such as health insurance, driver’s license and opening a bank account. Ms. Belleville even followed Mr. Moreno to the hospital when he was suffering from appendicitis.
A dream of living in Quebec
So she hopes the three recruits, who already have plastic injection molding experience, will stay in Quebec beyond the end of 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 actors. “It is the best opportunity of our lives to work in a good company that requires our experience,” said Mr. Majoral. Quebec, Canada is a better place than Mexico. We want to improve the life of our family. »
However, there are still some challenges to be overcome. The three fitters left all their wives and children behind, but wish they could come soon. Will they be able to feel comfortable in this rural environment where they don’t know anyone?
“It’s very welcoming here. The villagers call us the Tres Amigos. All services are nearby. That’s what I tell my wife when I talk to her. She doesn’t want me to send her a video of Saint-Félix because when she arrives she wants to see everything for the first time,” says Majoral.
In order to obtain permanent residency, they must pass a French test, which is notoriously difficult. They put everything on their side, watch movies, listen to music in French, play Scrabble and talk to each other in French every day.
Given the CAQ government’s desire to encourage French-speaking immigration in particular and to increase requirements in French, companies that want to retain their foreign workers must be very active in supporting them, says foreign recruitment consultant Marie-Josée Hébert. “I can hardly imagine that we can only recruit in French-speaking countries,” she said.
Ms. Hébert has also convinced another Lanaudière company, Impack, to offer online pre-franchise to its four recruits who are still in Mexico. This company, which manufactures machines for the production of cardboard packaging, has just started a process that is in every way similar to that of Plastiques GPR.