New website aims to recruit students to the aerospace manufacturing industry in Quebec

Two schools in Quebec are partnering with a major organization to attract students to the province’s thriving aerospace manufacturing industry.

To meet the industry’s ongoing labour needs, CAMAQ (Comité sectoriel de main‐d’œuvre en aérospatiale au Québec); Aéro Montréal, Québec’s aerospace cluster; the École nationale d’aérotechnique (ÉNA), affiliated with the Collège Édouard-Montpetit and the École des métiers de l’aérospatiale de Montréal (ÉMAM) of the Commission scolaire de Montréal invite all young people and adults who seek well-paying careers with promising futures to contact educational institutions and register for their preferred training programs.

“The industry has regained its pace, and Québec’s aerospace businesses currently seek qualified workers for all manufacturing sub-sectors as well as aircraft maintenance,” said Serge Tremblay, executive director of CAMAQ. Annual employment censuses published by CAMAQ—for manufacturing and the airline and aircraft maintenance industries—predict that 2,323 new positions for engineers, machinists, cabinet makers/furniture finishers, pilots and specialized technicians will be created in 2013. These are in addition to the approximately 2,900 jobs already forecast to meet an annual 5 per cent turnover rate. These annual censuses cover the Québec aerospace industry in its entirety, some 360 businesses in all 17 administrative regions.

Faced with these significant labour needs, ÉMAM and ÉNA have joined forces to publicize their specialized aerospace training programs. They have launched a joint promotional campaign, which includes creation of the Web site www.desemploisenaero.com. This is the first time that the two institutions, the first of which offers professional training while the second offers technical training, have collaborated so closely to promote their education programs. The initiative has received formal support from several businesses.

“Its national status and two annexes, one in Mirabel and one in Trois-Rivières, make ÉMAM a key partner in meeting labour needs in both Montréal and the regions. With its work-study facilities, which fully reproduce industry workplace conditions, including current industry safety standards and regulations, ÉMAM is the leading school of its kind in Canada. Our graduates are already in high demand among employers and we hope to admit more students,” said Josée Péloquin, director of ÉMAM, said in a statement.

Serge Brasset, director general of Collège Édouard-Montpetit and Director of ÉNA, said: “ÉNA has offered college-level technical training for nearly 50 years with short-term programs for adults and three DEC programs. It is the largest aerotechnical training institute in North America and it maintains close ties with industry to ensure that it trains qualified workers who meet specific industry needs. Indeed, ÉNA graduates are highly sought-after by businesses.”

“Aerospace is an industry of the future. Sales currently exceed $12 billion and have seen an average annual growth rate of 5.7 per cent over the last 22 years. In addition, it provides over 42,000 quality jobs and has distinguished itself through leadership in research and development,” said Suzanne Benoit, president of Aéro Montréal.