Press release
The World on our Doorstep program:
A different approach to hosting foreign talent within companies
Montréal, October 6, 2008 The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal is proud to celebrate the first anniversary of its program World on our Doorstep Mini-traineeships for qualified immigrants, organized in partnership with the Ministère de l'Immigration et des Communautés culturelles.
The statistics and forecasts are clear: within just a few years, 100 percent of the net growth of our labour force will depend on immigration. So we must be proactive in attracting new talent and spotlighting our strengths to encourage them to settle in the metropolis, declared Isabelle Hudon, president and CEO of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal.
The World on our Doorstep program enables us to build bridges between foreign talent and local enterprises. These in-house traineeships, lasting between one and three days, give newcomers a better understanding of the Quebec work environment while giving companies a chance to discover qualified resources educated in leading sectors, added Hudon.
Yolande James, Minister of Immigration and Cultural Communities, notes that she is particularly pleased by this fruitful collaboration between Greater Montréal's major network of employers, municipal representatives, and her own department. This collaboration bodes well for the various government measures designed to encourage socio-economic players on the Island of Montréal to work together to deploy an action strategy and conditions promoting the successful economic integration of immigrant workers, she declared.
In the current situation of labour shortages in various economic sectors, the flow of talent coming from new immigrants is a major asset for our region, says the president of the Conférence régionale des élus de Montréal (CRÉ), Manon Barbe. She concluded by saying, the CRÉ is proud to be a partner of World on our Doorstep, a very effective tool for introducing immigrants to the Montréal job market.
In one year, almost 100 traineeships have been carried out and, while this is not the program's primary objective, the hiring rate is 15 percent. Companies in various sectors are attracted by this opportunity, as it allows them to recruit easily while opening their doors to diversity. Desjardins, Cirque du Soleil, Lallemand, and Allstream were among the first organizations to host trainees and declare the importance of this initiative, concluded Hudon.
Organizations wishing to host one or more trainees during observation days are invited to visit World on our Doorstep Web site.
The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal has some 7,000 members. Its primary mission is to represent the interests of the business community of Greater Montréal and to provide individuals, merchants, and local businesses of all sizes with a variety of specialized services to help them achieve their full potential in terms of innovation, productivity and competitiveness. The Board of Trade is Quebec's leading private economic development organization.
-30-
Source:
Sylvie Paquette
Coordinator, Media relations
Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal
Tel.: 514 871-4000, ext. 4015
sylvie.paquette@ccmm.qc.ca