11 September 2017

PRESS RELEASE – Sherbrooke Innopole has launched “J’adopte l’Estrie (Estrie, a New Home),” an initiative focused on offering international students in the Estrie region a vast range of activities and practical tools to encourage them to immigrate to the region permanently.  The project, launched in collaboration with Pro-Gestion Estrie, is the fruition of the agreement signed last May by Sherbrooke Innopole and the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion (MIDI).

As of this fall, students will have the opportunity to participate in job search workshops, attend information sessions on the immigration process, visit companies, and take part in networking activities with employers from the region’s most promising sectors. By going to the “Estrie, a New Home” Facebook page (www.facebook.com/JadoptelEstrie), students will be able to learn about and register for events.

Behind : Bernard Sévigny, Mayor of Sherbrooke, Julie Desnoyers, International Student Coordinator – Student Services at Université de Sherbrooke, Josée Fortin, director general of Sherbrooke Innopole, Stanley Victor, advisor to the Ministre de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion, Kathleen Weil
Front : Paola Varruti, international student at Université de Sherbrooke, Anne-Marie Côté, project manager for J’adopte l’Estrie at Sherbrooke Innopole, Nicole Bergeron, director general of Pro-Gestion Estrie

» Photo album

“The collaboration of all stakeholders – companies, organizations, and institutions – is vital to attract and retain tomorrow’s labour force,” noted Josée Fortin, Director General of Sherbrooke Innopole. “Students from abroad and elsewhere in Québec must feel welcome in the Estrie region and have the opportunity to discover the advantages of building their lives here, from both personal and career perspectives. Action must also be taken to better inform and support these students throughout the process. ”

Workshop sessions on employability, integration, and the immigration process will also be offered to the students. International student Paola Varutti, graduating with a Master’s in Communications from the Université de Sherbrooke, is very enthusiastic about this development. “To me, the Estrie, a New Home project demonstrates Québec’s recognition of international students with the type of visibility it brings us. The project’s activities will help me become more familiar with the reality of the Estrie region’s job market and to develop tools to open professional opportunities, all of which were unknown to me previously. The Estrie, a New Home project’s activities and tools will motivate my international student colleagues to focus on the Estrie region for their job searches. ”

The partnership with Pro-Gestion Estrie has made it possible for its website “L’Estrie vous engage” (the Estrie region needs you) to be adapted to the project’s needs. The improved website will enable students to define their profile as a job seeker in turn providing them with exceptional exposure among the employers subscribed to the site. These employers will be able to learn about candidates, leading to potential hirings.

The site also features a section “Immigrer” (immigrate) with lots of information on the immigration process, as well as a “Découvrir” (discover) section covering various aspects of the Estrie region, from the job market to leisure activities, and also includes information on the cost of living, lodging, and transportation.  “Our site is succeeding at better and better accomplishing its mission of attracting job seekers for employers, in addition to promoting the region,” stated Nicole Bergeron, Director General of Pro-Gestion Estrie. With the addition of the profiles of candidates graduating from all educational institutions in the Estrie region, we are taking an important step in enabling them to build their future here, thus contributing to the promotion of regional economic development.”

In the execution of Estrie, a New Home, Sherbrooke Innopole can rely on the collaboration of numerous players, including the region’s educational institutions and organizations working with cultural communities and immigrants from the Estrie region, such as the Service d’Aide aux Néo-Canadiens (SANC), and the Fédération des Communautés Culturelles de l’Estrie to support students in the process of integrating into the Estrie community.

Source : Sherbrooke Innopole 

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