Sta Kuzviwanza is the Director of Policy and Research at the Provincial Employment Roundtable (PERT). She is a researcher and analyst with a background in economics and technology policy. Sta previously worked as the policy research lead for Quebec at Airbnb Canada and as a consultant providing policy analysis to organizations in the private and public sectors.
Work-Integrated French-Language Training in the Quebec Context
Recorded at a QUESCREN Lunch & Learn webinar on September 19, 2024
Context
Sta Kuzviwanza summarizes recent Provincial Employment Roundtable (PERT) research on work-integrated French-language training in Québec, focusing on its availability, user experiences, and ways to improve the current system.
Key Takeaways
- Lack of French language skills are the most significant barrier to employment for English speakers in Québec.
- Despite initial enthusiasm for learning or improving their French, learners describe difficulty accessing relevant programs as well as heightened anxiety when interacting with native speakers. This negatively impacts their motivation and learning experience.
- Diverse factors can impact the learning time for a foreign language: motivations to previous languages spoken to learning environments.
- Immersive language-learning programs help to enhance spoken proficiency, whereas classroom instruction improves written proficiency.
- Opportunities for cultural exchange, confidence building, and lifelong learning are some best practices in language learning.
- Employers often lack the organizational capacity to provide French language support to English-speaking employees, despite being willing to do so.
Strategic Implications
PERT recommends the Québec government expand and implement work-integrated language training programs with both universal and targeted options that will ensure inclusivity and address the diverse needs of the workforce.
They also recommend developing and funding job-specific French-language training and work placement programs, along with improving awareness and accessibility of resources—such as enhancing the usability of the francisation website—to increase program availability and participation.
For all policy recommendations, please see Sta’s PowerPoint presentation p. 29-31.
Read the Research
- Learning French as an Adult: A review of current best practices in adult French-language training in Québec. (Research study)
- 2021 Employment Survey of English-speaking Quebecers and Organizations. (Research report)
- Québec and the rest: A survey of national and international approaches to adult language training. (Reserach study)
Useful Links
Additional resources shared during the event
Government Resources
- Francisation Québec website
- Resources from the ministère de l'Immigration de la Francisation et de l'Intégration for those wishing to work in or study Accounting
- Official Quebec scale of levels of proficiency in French (Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en Français)
- Information for employers looking to access subsidized francisation services for staff
PERT Resources
- For employers: invitation to participate in PERT’s employers research project
- Reports, including Employment Profiles
- PERT’s latest news
Speaker Bio
How to cite this video: Kuzviwanza, Sta. “Work-Integrated French-Language Training in the Québec Context” Lunch & Learn webinar produced by the Quebec English-Speaking Communities Research Network (QUESCREN), Concordia University, Montreal, September 19, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtcTkxdxARw
Terms of Use: This Lunch & Learn recording is made available to the public under the terms of Creative Commons Licence Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International.
- The material can be copied and distributed in its original form only and for non-commercial purposes.
- Users must give appropriate credit to the creator(s) of the material and link to the original source.
About QUESCREN Lunch & Learns
QUESCREN is a collaborative network of researchers, community members and institutions that provides opportunities to promote the understanding and vitality of English-speaking Quebec. Our Lunch & Learn series consists of one-hour webinars on research topics related to English-speaking Quebec.
This event was made possible through the financial support of the Secrétariat aux relations avec les Québécois d'expression anglaise. QUESCREN also received funding from the Department of Canadian Heritage, and Concordia University.
