Workers 60 and over: Quebec looks to keep them in the workforce

The Conseil du patronat du Québec (Quebec Employers’ Council) is implementing its project to help workers 60 and over remain in the workforce, or be hired, with the help of a grant of nearly $1 million from the province’s Ministry of Employment.

At a press conference in Montreal on Monday, Employment Minister Kateri Champagne Jourdain announced that $987,289 had been allocated to the project.

“There are 175,000 job vacancies in Quebec,” said the Minister and according to her, there are some stubborn “myths” that need to be dispelled to demonstrate to Quebecers that it really does pay to go back to work.

The project, which the CPQ has been working on for several months, is a guide to best practices, personalized support, evaluation and follow-up services for companies interested in retaining or recruiting workers 60 to 69.

Companies will be able to take advantage of 35 hours of free, personalized coaching to help them in their search. The target sectors are construction, manufacturing, retail and hospitality services. But if the project proves successful, they would like to extend it to other sectors.

Some 20 companies are already benefiting from this type of support, and CPQ President and CEO Karl Blackburn hopes to interest at least 90.

Two years ago, Le Journal reported that the number of workers 65 and over jumped by 12 per cent, from 173,100 in 2019 to 194,100 in May 2022.

According to the Quebec government, if the province had the same employment rate as Ontario last year for the 60 to 69 age group, there would be some 42,000 more people in the workforce.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews