Because he saw students who feel “despised” because of their career choices, the Minister of Education wants to change the image of vocational training. “Are we in agreement that we need electricians and plumbers?” Bernard Drainville asked an audience of businesspeople, but urged them not to increase dropouts.
Posted at 8:09am, updated at 9:28am
Speaking to members of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal (CCMM), the education minister praised vocational training, in which Quebec will invest $81.3 million by 2027.
“Sometimes the students [inscrits en formation professionnelle] feel like they’re being looked down on. There are even some who tell me: I had to argue with my parents to make them accept it,” says Bernard Drainville.
“Are we in agreement that we need electricians and plumbers?” “, he added. However, he sent a clear message to employers who are urgently looking for workers: “Don’t take the students out of school”.
Vocational training graduates “earn very well,” Minister Drainville continued. “I have a degree in Political Science, I can compare…” Mr. Drainville said, eliciting laughter from the room.
Graduating 30,000 students in the sector is one of the seven priorities identified by the minister for his newly assumed mandate. In times of shortage “that’s a really big job,” the minister admitted.
Bernard Drainville also defended himself against being a “jovialistic” minister, acknowledging that the education ministry “isn’t working the way it should be working”.
“My job is to solve problems and make progress. I eat the elephant one bite at a time, but I want quick progress. We need to change the atmosphere around education. You can’t constantly see what’s wrong and not talk about what’s right,” he said.
“Our schools need love”
As of 7 a.m. Tuesday morning, teachers’ unions had gathered to welcome the minister to downtown Montreal.
The theme of the event was essential on February 14th. On René Lévesque Boulevard in Montreal, to the tune of Love Hurts from Nazareth or With or Without You by U2, a hundred CSQ union members demonstrated in front of the Sheraton Center where the Minister of Education was targeted Members of the CCMM.
“Today is Valentine’s Day and we came to say to the minister that our schools need love. He’s been talking to us lately about seven priorities, we’re awaiting action,” said Josée Scalabrini, President of the Federation of Education Unions.
When it comes to vocational training, the minister has “great ambitions,” explained Mélanie Hubert, President of the Autonomous Education Association.
“What we’re trying to say is, let’s be careful, let’s be careful and smart. It’s not about sitting students on school desks and waiting for everything to happen. We will have to convince people in shortage occupations to come and teach,” Ms. Hubert recalled.