QUEBEC CITY, June 23, 2020 - Within the framework of the Collective Strengthening of Workforce Skills Program, the Commission for Labor Market Partners (CPMT), the Minister of Labor, Employment and Social Solidarity and Minister responsible for the Mauricie region, Mr. Jean Boulet, announces an amount of $ 319,739 to the Société des chefs, cuisiniers et pâtissiers du Québec for its project of in-service training in the restaurant industry, Chef training.

This grant will allow employees to continue to be paid during their training and businesses will be reimbursed at 50% for the hours worked both at school and on internship.

For 27 weeks, 24 experienced cooks already in employment will be trained to fill the vacant positions of chef or sous-chef in restaurants in the Capitale-Nationale. Restaurateurs find it difficult to recruit and retain staff. This project will allow them to retain their employees, develop their skills in addition to meeting the need for skilled labor in the region.

At the end of this theoretical and practical training of 375 hours, they will be able to exercise the roles of chef de cuisine, chef de partie, assistant chef and sous-chef. The training will be offered alternately, one day per week at the Fierbourg Hotel School and hours on the job. Two groups of 12 cooks will be formed from September 2021.

Quotes: “If we are to meet the current challenges of the workforce, we must insist on improving the skills of our workers, particularly in the restaurant sector. This innovative training project will increase their employability, fill vacancies, ensure staff retention and contribute to the profitability of companies. The success of an employment strategy must integrate both training and economic issues. This is all the more important in the context provoked by the pandemic. Jean Boulet, Minister of Labor, Employment and Social Solidarity and Minister responsible for the Mauricie region

“This announcement is excellent news for the restaurant community in Quebec. Cooks need new challenges to harness their creativity. This training, both technically and in the workplace, will allow them to enrich and develop new skills that will benefit restaurants and their customers. Daniel Vézina, founding chef of the Laurie Raphaël Group

Highlights: The Society of Chefs, Cooks and Pastry Cooks of Quebec is the largest professional group of food trades in Quebec and has some 800 members in ten regions. The registration form for this training has been available since June 22 for restaurateurs in the Capitale-Nationale wishing to participate. The Hotel Association of the Quebec City and Fierbourg region, the professional training center of the Première-Seigneuries School Service Center, are partners in this training. The profession of chef is among the most demanded currently in all of Quebec, more specifically in the Capitale-Nationale region, where it was considered to be in deficit in 2018. There were approximately 500 chefs in the Capitale region- National in 2018. This project is financed by the Workforce Skills Development and Recognition Fund (FDRCMO), whose grants are structured so as to favor a problem-solving approach based on '' achievement of the results sought by project promoters. The projects of the Collective Strengthening of the Workforce Program must be carried by an eligible promoter, such as a sectoral labor committee, a union, an employers' association or a training mutual . Under the responsibility of the CPMT, the FDRCMO is administered by the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Solidarity. The CPMT is a national consultative body that brings together leaders representing businesses, the workforce, community organizations active in the field of employability and the education community.

SOURCE Office of the Minister of Labor, Employment and Social Solidarity