The Eastern Townships' nine vocational training centres have come together to launch a regional strategy known as the 'VT Effect' with the goal of raising awareness around vocational training and what it contributes to the lives of students and society at large. 

According to Johanna Bisson, Assistant Director of Continuing Education for the Eastern Townships Schools Board (ETSB), the launch of the VT Effect will see the region's vocational training centres collectively promote vocational training as a valuable form of education for the very first time. These vocational training centres are Campus Brome-Missisquoi (CBM), Lennoxville Vocational Training Centre (LVTC), Centre Régional Intégré De Formation (CRIF), Crifa, Centre 24-Juin, Centre Expé, Centre De Formation Professionnelle le Granit, Centre De Formation Professionnelle du Haut-Saint-François, Maison Familiale Rurale du Granit (MFR), and Service aux Entreprises Estrie (SAE-ESTRIE). 

“For us, it’s a big change to work together, Francophone and Anglophone. All of the school boards and all of the vocational training centres worked together to create something. (…) A few years ago we started to work together and to think about how we could be more efficient and [prepare] more people to be ready to work in our businesses,” said Bisson. “(…) The most important part of the strategic plan for vocational training is really to share the effect of vocational training in your life, but in society too. That’s where we want to go together.”

As a part of the new regional strategy, a bilingual VT Effect website and other tools, such as a Facebook page, have been created, centralizing vocational training in the Eastern Townships under one common platform. The VT effect website provides the opportunity to discover the region’s vocational training centres; what these centres offer in terms of programs and services; a podcast focused on women in vocational training and their experiences; and more. These tools are meant to guide and orient individuals interested in learning more about vocational training and the different trade careers that can extend from vocational training  programs. 

“For many, many, years, the challenge in professional training is to convince students, or rather to convince teachers in high-school and parents as well as students, that this is not only a viable but very fulfilling kind of career to pursue. We have to get that message across when they’re young enough to be choosing which way they want to go and what kind of career they want to have,” emphasized Michael Murray, chairperson for the ETSB. “(…) Getting a common image for us to promote is just one step.”

“We have an interesting part of our website to help students to see ‘which programs can I take for me'? Something that is really interesting, that is in line with my values, who I am, etc., or for the parents who want to help students that see a better future may be in a vocational training centre,” added Bisson.

According to their press release, only 8% of Eastern Townships students choose to enroll in a vocational training centre after graduating, and 23% of graduates choose not to continue their studies, representing an average of 928 students per year who enter the job market without any professional training. The situation has put pressure on a region whose businesses and industries are already facing challenges related to short staffing and the shortage of skilled employees.

To address the situation, a significant element of the VT Effect regional strategy is not only to help students or adults understand the benefits of receiving skilled training before entering the workforce, but to encourage the region’s industries to look towards vocational training centres as an important resource to fill the needs of the job market.  

“With all of that, we have started to work with the companies to really understand their needs and put in place what we can as a school and centre to help. We created more part-time programs, so three-days a week, at CBM, LVTC, and other French school boards too,” highlighted Bisson. “And we have more and more [work-study] programs. (…) That’s really interesting for the students and it gives people to work in the businesses. We know that for the students who are starting in school that it’s not the same as a real employee, but they can help, do tasks, learn with the company, and have a place there.”

At Campus Brome-Missisquoi for example, the vocational training centre has been collaborating with GE Aerospace to properly train its employees for the specific position they will hold at the company as equipment operators. The first cohort was such a success that CBM and GE expect to do two other rounds of recruitment, according Lisa Payne, Assistant Director of CBM’s Vocational Training Centre. 

“In Brome-Missisquoi right now, they are very desperate for industrial mechanics. Unfortunately, it’s kind of a catch-22. These students that Johanna spoke about earlier who are going right out of the high-school and into the market, are being attracted by these companies that are like ‘no, come work for us. We will start you on a good salary and we will train you on the spot.’ So we miss out on getting them as students and getting them proper training,” noted Payne. “We are working with these companies to make sure that they understand the value of the work that we do as well. I think, since I’ve been at CBM in the last four or five years, we have seen a really good knitting of those relationships in terms of what can we do for you?, what can you do for us?, and how can we turn this person into the best employee that they can be for you?”

Now that the VT Effect is officially launched, Bisson, Murray and Payne, highlighted that there are high hopes for the future in terms of vocational training being given the recognition and attention that it deserves on part of students, the educational community, and the public at large. 

“Come, get a tour of our centre, whether in Cowansville or in Lennoxville, and we will show you. Become a student for a day and will show you the value and what it is that you can do. There is no reason to drop out of high-school, we have solutions for you,” said Payne. 

Listen to the full interview with Bisson, Murray and Payne below: