2 October 2014

PRESS RELEASE – This morning, Sherbrooke Innopole announced a major project to bring together the economic and academic environments and featuring Sherbrooke’s manufacturing sector: the Industrial Open House Project. The goal of this event, scheduled for October 24th and 25th, is a better alignment of training with job opportunities and will promote the Sherbrooke industrial sector as a major player in our economy and a stimulating job environment for the benefit of students and the population at large.

The project is a product of Sherbrooke Innopole’s new strategic 2014-2019 five-year plan, in which challenges and opportunities specific to the manufacturing industry were identified, namely a labour shortage in several trades and professional jobs and a lack of awareness of Sherbrooke businesses among the population. The Industrial Open House Project will enable students making career choices and job seekers to discover the great diversity of industrial businesses in Sherbrooke, their know-how and high level of innovation and technology. The event will allow the general population to visit workplaces usually unavailable for public view and to see the amazing products that are manufactured here. The event’s slogan « Made in Sherbrooke. By people like you », reflects this double objective.

The Industrial Open House Project was organized in partnership with the Maison régionale de l’industrie (regional industrial house), involved with the school sector for a few years now, the Cégep de Sherbrooke and the Commission scolaire de la Région-de-Sherbrooke (Sherbrooke regional school board). « This event clearly demonstrates a collective will to work together to find concrete measures to resolve labour needs, explains Marie-France Bélanger, Director General of Cégep de Sherbrooke. To ensure growth, manufacturing businesses must be able to rely on qualified personnel in sufficient numbers; thus, a need for early intervention with students who will fill future vacancies. The Industrial Open House Project will highlight career possibilities in this sector while exposing local business expertise. » In the short term, the event will trigger candidacies from job seekers since the great majority of participating firms have immediate vacancies to fill and will have job documentation on hand for distribution.

The 2014 Industrial Open House Project will have several features, but the most important will be free guided tours of 11 businesses located in three Sherbrooke areas/industrial parks. These are showcases in sectors as varied as automotive parts, cosmetics, fire doors, airport support vehicles, sorting centre equipment, flight simulators and rotational moulding.  « I’m convinced that visitors will be extremely surprised to see all that is manufactured in Sherbrooke and the high level of technology in use in most businesses. The Sherbrooke industrial and manufacturing sectors has reinvented itself in the last twenty years and the Industrial Open House Project will enable the Sherbrooke population to discover its new look», points out Sherbrooke Innopole General Director, Josée Fortin.

The two days of the event are directed at different audiences: On Friday October 24th, school visits will be hosted, while Saturday October 25^th will host the general public (ages 12 and up). «Already, several public and private schools have confirmed the attendance of students in their 3^rd and 4^th year of secondary school as well as students undergoing technical and professional training who will soon be seeking employment, says Sherbrooke Innopole Communications Director, Marie-Eve Poliquin. During these visits, they will have the opportunity to meet and talk with employees passionate about their jobs, and who knows, to inform their career path. The next day, we expect Sherbrooke residents to attend in large numbers from 10am to 3pm. People will be impressed to see all that is manufactured in a plant near their homes!  »

A web site, dedicated to the event, www.viensvoirlesindustries.com, was put on line and gives access to full details about the Industrial Open House Project, including an interactive map, a description of businesses hosting visits and of available jobs as well as salient points about each visit. The site, available on mobile, also features a portrait of the Sherbrooke manufacturing industry and lists the many types of jobs to be found and educational path to follow.

The Industrial Open House Project will be the subject of an intensive web, radio and print promotional campaign in the next few weeks. A map showing the location of the participating businesses, a description of the firms and a special insert on the Sherbrooke manufacturing industry will be published in La Tribune in the days preceding the event.

Participating businesses to the 2014 Industrial Open House Project are: Ball Technologies Avancées, Composites BHS, Cooper Standard Automotive, Dalkotech, De la Fontaine, Manunor, Métosak, Moules Industriels, Sherbrooke OEM (two plants), The Color Group et TLD Canada.  A free shuttle bus service between businesses located in the regional industrial park will be available to the public on Saturday October 25^th from the parking lot of the former Brico MAX store (600, Jean-Paul-Perreault street).