Press release
MR³ Montréal Relève actively involved in countering the expected shortage
of qualified labour in the city
Montréal, March 3, 2009 MR³ Montréal Relève, in collaboration with the City of Montréal and the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal today launched a new project called Passeport Jeunesse Montréal that will enable high school students to discover the possibilities offered by the municipal job market while encouraging them to complete a program of study leading to a career with the City of Montréal.
This initiative comes at a time when the Fonds Ville-Marie is intensifying its efforts and assuming the new identity MR³ Montréal Relève. The organization's goal is to illustrate the need to support persistence-in-school. This new project is a very concrete response to the concerns of Montréal authorities regarding the minimal representation of young workers in the city's public service.
Passeport Jeunesse Montréal aims to spark young people's interest and motivate them to carry on the work of thousands of municipal sector workers who will retire in the next few years. During March 2009, about fifty students will be matched with experienced professionals in the different departments of the City of Montréal who have agreed to act as mentors. For three days, the young people will be able to experience directly how municipal workers contribute to their city's quality of life in the following four priority areas: democratic life, the environment, succession in the municipal public service, and science and technology.
According to Marie-Élaine Normandeau, Executive Director of MR³ Montréal Relève, this pilot project will have two effects: young people in the process of choosing a career will discover the municipal work environment, and they will be motivated academically. Many young people have difficulty imagining their future in the job market because they haven't yet discovered a job that really interests them. The municipal work environment is bursting with varied and stimulating challenges, which can spark the flame that will encourage our youth to make the necessary efforts to build a highly satisfying career, states Normandeau.
For Michel Leblanc, President and CEO of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, meeting the human resource challenge is a major priority for Montréal. Within just a few years, the labour force will begin to shrink, and that's why we must begin now to work together to encourage young people to pursue their studies and develop their full potential. The prosperity of our metropolis depends on it. Our support for MR3 is in line with our desire to contribute to concrete projects that will stimulate the development of the next generation and help them discover career paths they might not otherwise have considered.
This new priority for MR3 Montréal Relève comes in addition to two projects that already receive its support:
- Student Business Project, which helps prepare a qualified and certified succession for Montréal businesses. Owing to this initiative, in the past seven years, some 415 corporate partners have assisted thousands of Secondary 3 and 4 students from 16 public high schools to find their vocation.
- Operation Back to School, an initiative that, for the past twelve years, has brought together more than 2,500 business people from various fields and 100,000 high school students. The students have discovered models who have instilled in them the desire to stay in school and earn their diploma.
About MR3 Montréal Relève
MR³ Montréal Relève (formerly known as Fonds Ville-Marie) is a non-profit organization that endeavors, through various initiatives, to prepare a qualified succession for the Montréal region and develop innovative projects related to the economic, social, and cultural development of Montréal. This organization was founded in 1995 as part of the creation of Société en commandite Stationnement de Montréal, under the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal. Stationnement de Montréal is mandated to manage paid on-street parking and some off-street parking in the City of Montréal.
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Source :
Source: Marie-Élaine Normandeau
Information: Robert Lupien
Tel.: (514) 845-2257 Extension 4233
Cell: (514) 944-9896