Trois-Rivières, Québec — Québec is giving a big boost to its bodyshop sector, as the province’s labour minister announced a $2,109,160 investment into training for technicians and estimators.
Minister Jean Boulet announced the investment in his home riding of Trois-Rivières where he stipulated that $1,672,985 of the total investment will be used to develop specific training related to body repair for hybrid and electric vehicles.
The provincial government expects this investment into automotive trades training will eventually create 230 body technicians and 100 estimators in the region.
The remaining $436,175 will be distributed over the next three years to the Comité paritaire de l’industrie automobile de la Mauricie for the work-study training of 22 auto body technicians under the short-term training program for occupations prioritized by the Commission des partenaires du marché du travail.
The training will be offered at the Centre de formation Qualitech, which is under the responsibility of the Centre de services scolaires Chemin-du-Roy.
“With the increasing electrification of transportation, it is imperative that the Quebec automotive industry equip itself with tools to train its workforce to the highest standards,” said Boulet.
“The training courses that will be developed in this way will enhance the body shop curriculum. In addition, the work-study program is a concrete solution to the labour shortage. Our objective with this type of project is to allow for the development of employees’ skills while adequately meeting the labour needs of businesses.”
