30 October 2014

PRESS RELEASE – Sherbrooke Innopole’s Portes ouvertes sur l’industrie (Industrial Open House) was a great success during its two days, with more than 2270 people visiting 11 manufacturing companies in Sherbrooke. The event was organized by Sherbrooke Innopole in cooperation with several partners, and this first edition enabled students, job seekers, and the general public to discover innovative products and companies as well as appealing trades that are in demand.

Thanks to free guided tours at Ball Technologies, Composites BHS, Cooper Standard Automotive Canada, Dalkotech, De la Fontaine, Manunor, Métosak, Moules Industriels, Sherbrooke OEM (two plants), The Color Group, and TLD Canada, participants were exposed to the great diversity of industrial companies in Sherbrooke as well as their know-how and advanced technologies.

Friday was devoted to school visits, with close to 400 students coming from 13 public and private, English- and French-language schools and programs from Sherbrooke. The city’s residents responded to the invitation on Saturday, visiting the three targeted industrial zones/parks.

Sherbrooke Innopole’s Director General, Josée Fortin, was thrilled with the event’s success. “The public’s response to this first edition of the Industrial Open House was beyond our expectations! People were curious to see what’s made here in Sherbrooke, and they were pleasantly surprised. The event clearly added to residents’ pride in the local manufacturing industry and strengthened the industry’s reputation as an essential player in our economy and a stimulating work environment. With that kind of response to our first experience, we plan to hold the event each year or every second year to help our businesses continue to shine.”

Sherbrooke Innopole’s Communications Director, Marie-Eve Poliquin, said the event was the result of successful teamwork: “The project brought together the education and business communities around the common challenge of coordinating training with work-force needs. Already, the participating companies that need workers were able to gather numerous CVs during the Open House. In the longer term, we’re confident that this first edition will have enabled youth to see manufacturing trades and professions as possible career choices.

“An initiative as ambitious as the Industrial Open House would not have been possible without the participation and invaluable collaboration of the management and employees of the 11 companies visited: we thank you very warmly! We are also grateful to our partners, who were essential to the organization and success of the event: the Maison régionale de l’industrie, the Cégep de Sherbrooke, and the Commission scolaire de la Région-de-Sherbrooke, in conjunction with the Société de transport de Sherbrooke and La Tribune.”

The Industrial Open House Web site, www.viensvoirlesindustries.com, will remain active, giving a profile of the manufacturing sector in Sherbrooke and its related trades and professions. About 30 job opportunities posted by the 11 participating companies will be kept on the site for another few weeks.

A special insert in La Tribune was published on October 23 on Sherbrooke’s manufacturing industry and to promote the event. It is still available online at http://bit.ly/1zkL5Ve.