It's an extraordinary experience that has been very conclusive," enthuses Ms. Nadeau, Director of the Centres de formation professionnelle et d'éducation des adultes de Sorel-Tracy (CFPEAST). The city of Sorel-Tracy was really well positioned in the mission, and we reaped a lot of benefits. "

From May 19 to 23, Christine Nadeau was part of a large delegation, enhanced for the first time by people from the academic and vocational training sectors. In 2024, a group from Sorel-Tracy, including David Plasse, Director of Développement économique Pierre-De Saurel (DEPS), had also traveled to the Land of a Thousand Lakes under the impetus of Naval Québec.

This year, the delegation visited four cities: Helsinki, Turku, Rauma and Vaasa. During the week, several meetings were organized with key players in the Finnish education sector. "In each city, we met people involved in vocational training. We visited universities, classrooms and training facilities," reveals Christine Nadeau.

Christine Nadeau's favorite was her visit to Turku, a city some 170 kilometers northwest of the capital. "We met a number of education stakeholders with whom we forged some pretty impressive links. As soon as we left the meeting, we had already formed a Teams team to exchange programs and ideas. They've even invited us back and are interested in coming to Sorel-Tracy," confides Ms. Nadeau.

"The trip confirms that the region is superbly positioned. Because of its geography, but also because of the will of the municipality and the mobilization of the people. Some of the older people we met in Finland knew that there had once been a shipyard here," she adds.

AEP in shipbuilding

During the mission, Christine Nadeau also observed how the Finns train their workers. "I wanted to make sure that the AEP in shipbuilding we had built was in line with what the industry was looking for. In Finland, their programs are recognized worldwide. So we wanted to make sure that our program met the needs of the market, and it does," she explains.

This 570-hour training program will be launched in five CSSs in Quebec, including Sorel-Tracy. In fact, Ms. Nadeau estimates that the first cohort could see the light of day in the first quarter of 2026 in Sorel-Tracy. "The drafting of the program is complete. We're waiting for the financial guidelines and approval. This is excellent news. In Sorel-Tracy, in terms of premises and instructors, we're ready," explains Ms. Nadeau.

This new STC will be offered on a work-study basis. "We're in the process of finding partners for our students," confides the director.

Finally, the mission to Finland could also lead to student exchanges.

"This kind of international exchange feeds our pedagogical thinking and inspires us to innovate our training approaches," concludes Christine Nadeau.

Source: les2rives.com/