The Montérégie is one of Quebec’s most economically vibrant regions. According to its 2020–2023 strategic plan¹, employment is expected to climb slightly, while unemployment should continue to decline. What’s more, the Montérégie’s population has been growing since 2001, outpacing the rest of Quebec. It also has the highest positive net migration rate in the province. All of these things are beneficial to the local economy, especially when it comes to talent acquisition, investments and immigration.

Despite this vitality, the Montérégie is experiencing a labour shortage exacerbated by:

• Increasingly aging population and retirements;
• A scarcity of local candidates that’s impeding growth in certain otherwise thriving regional industries, such as transportation, metal, electronics, technical textile and food processing;
• Regional investments fuelling a regional job increase (average annual growth rate of 1.36% in Montérégie vs. 1.12% in Quebec).

These issues are underscored by the fact that regional SMEs:

• Don’t have enough time to devote to recruitment;
• Don’t have the internal HR expertise to better address the current labour shortage;
• Are lacking in workforce forecasting and employee retention strategies;
• Often don’t have an employer brand;
• Aren’t aware of financing and support programs for hiring groups underrepresented in the workforce: persons with disabilities, persons with criminal records, immigrants, persons over age 55, etc.