Since the Michael Rousseau affair drew much criticism for the lack of French in its ranks, Air Canada is now looking for teachers to teach its employees the language learned from Molière The newspaper.
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In job vacancies posted on several websites, the carrier tries to find candidates who “specialize in teaching French as a second language to adults”.
Selected candidates will be based out of Montreal, where the airline’s headquarters are located, but will need to travel across Canada to provide training.
“Although courses are currently being held virtually, the selected candidate must be willing to travel to the various bases from St. John’s to Vancouver,” reads a quote consulted by Le Journal.
Michael Rousseau
Monolingual big boss
According to a well-informed source, Air Canada has been hiring French trainers for some time. The company wants to hire several candidates.
Air Canada did not provide details of its strategy via email and said it was releasing various offers as part of its recruitment efforts.
It must be said that in recent months the airline has been scalded outside the Metropolitan Montreal Department of Commerce following the disastrous passage of its leader Michael Rousseau.
Not enough classes at the moment
The airline boss was then unable to answer questions from journalists in French. Since then, Mr. Rousseau has attended intensive courses to learn the official language of Quebec.
Air Canada boasted to the Official Languages Committee earlier this year that it had offered 130,000 hours of second language training since 2015, which did not impress lawmakers.
Some had pointed out that this equates to just over an hour a year for the 10,000 employees who want to become bilingual.
“I am shocked! It’s a lottery to get tuition with Air Canada! This is unacceptable ! ’, was also launched by the Conservative MP Jacques Gourde.
Insufficient Effort
John Gradek
Former Air Canada manager
According to John Gradek, a former Air Canada executive and McGill lecturer, the airline needs to try a lot harder.
“They want to show that they take French seriously, but that’s not enough,” he said in an interview with Le Journal.
“Air Canada has been teaching for years, but we still see people using English. What percentage of the time do office workers use French? It needs an audit and hard data,” the professor explained.
Air Canada is subject to the Official Languages Act and is required to provide services in both languages. The airline is also looking for English teachers.
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