ABSTRACT
Globalisation and the value-added economy have contributed to a weakened demand for non-qualified or semi-qualified workers in the various activity sectors of advanced industrialised economies. As such, there is reason for concern regarding the prospects of less-educated individuals (Statistics Canada and HRDC 2001; MÉQ 2002). Indeed, Quebec, one of Canada’s ten provinces (and three territories), is home to almost 1.5 million individuals between the ages of 15 and 64 who hold no diploma and who have attended school for fewer than 13 years. Furthermore, as many as 41 per cent of these individuals have fewer than nine years of schooling (MÉQ 2002). Such individuals suffer from a lack of basic training and many find themselves increasingly marginalised in a labour market that is both demanding and volatile. According to the results of recent national and international studies, participation rates in training increase in relation to higher education levels – and that pattern is even more marked with respect to employersponsored training (Statistics Canada and HRDC 2001; OECD 2002, 2003). Today, political actors at both the provincial and the federal levels have made basic or essential skills training a priority.
