Articulation institutionnelle et orientations du système de formation professionnelle au Québec

Résumé

Le système québécois de formation professionnelle a connu des transformations importantes au cours des années 90. La nouvelle articulation institutionnelle de ce système a été traversée par diverses influences politiques et économiques, dont une caractéristique majeure est la participation soutenue des principaux acteurs des relations industrielles. Nous proposons ici une analyse de ce que nous nommons la modernisation du système de formation professionnelle au Québec en retraçant les orientations de départ et leur logique sous-jacente, en identifiant les influences extérieures permettant de spécifier l’expérience québécoise et en concluant sur les principaux enjeux qui confrontent les acteurs.

Abstract

In the early 1990s, Quebec undertook to modernize its occupational training system through a new institutional linkage which entalled a significant and sustained commitment from the principal actors in industrial relations. In so doing, the govemment was responding to two factors : the strategy of its federal counterpart which, by the late 1980s, had already adopted strategic initiatives in the field of labour force development ; a more generalized trend towards making labour force training and development a key factor in economic development. Thus, the Quebec strategy was both a political and economic response to changes in the competitive environment.

Analysis of the state of the training System at the time largely informed this new policy direction. On the whole, Quebec's occupational training system was weak at all levels. There was no linkage both between public policies either within the govemment or between different levels of govemment ; the institutional structure revealed unproductive tensions over the powers and cultures of the various actors ; the legislative framework for occupational training had not been modernized since 1969 ; employer and labour force behaviour (preferences, habits) often demonstrated little commitment to continuous manpower training ; joint initiatives on the part of labour market actors were not very widespread, either at the level of the firm or beyond. Thus, as revealed by prevalling actor practices and institutional linkages, a "training culture" did not really exist in Quebec. Drawing on the observation of experiences abroad, the 1991 Policy Statement on Labour Force Development led to an important conclusion : a common training culture is not something that can be decreed or imported, it is an evolutionary social construction which requires active participation and commitment from all the actors.

This strategy of developing a "training culture" in Quebec attached great importance to the commitment of union and management actors within new regional, sectoral and national structures. As training was a societal issue, public policy required a form of partnership between union and management actors. Apart from this form of joint regulation, one of the characteristics of the new institutional linkage was the adoption of an act that forces employers to devote a minimum of one percent of their annual wage bill to training. This legislative provision was similar to the practice carried out in France since 1971 as well as in Australia between 1990 and 1994. The Quebec act is still very recent (gradually coming into effect since 1996), and there has not yet been any overall assessment of it. Such an assessment is, however, planned for the year 2000 and will undoubtedly be a crucial moment for the continuation of Quebec's strategy of training management. Our analysis of the 1990s suggests four trends which have influenced the Quebec occupational training System. A first trend towards joint regulation, derived from neo-corporatism, has led to the establishment of new institutions linking the principal industrial relations actors to the management of public policy. However, the Quebec state has been variable in its support for this form of power sharing, and has, in recent years, reverted to traditional state control, giving rise to criticisms from industrial relations actors. The second trend is characterized by a decentralization which relates to an economic logic of bringing together actors in intermediary structures in order to respond to the issue of training, which is considered a public good.

This decentralization, part of a common trend within different industrialized economics, is carried out through regional and sectoral committees for labour force development. The third trend is the legislative guidance which reflects the state's attempt to use the law as a lever to stimulate the development of training in Quebec, while leaving a wide margin of manoeuvre for business actors. The fourth trend relates to the respect for business actors' autonomy in decision-making. Our analysis shows that, while supporting a more coercive intervention, the Quebec state basically sought to convey the message that actors should take charge of continuous manpower training, by recognizing their strategic role in the methods and decisions which are most appropriate to the context of each of the sectors and businesses. In this respect, what mattered most for the state was not the 1 % threshold nor its method of distribution. The act was simply a way to convey the message to the actors that training was henceforth an issue that could not be ignored by business actors and the state considered that these actors were in the best position to make decisions about what actions should be taken. In this sense, the aim of the act is to influence the behaviour of actors and not to supersede their own internai decision-making processes (whether they are employers, workers or their representatives).

In our view, it is precisely the actors' autonomy or maturity in developing a "training culture" which will, in a way, be tested during the forthcoming public debates on training in Quebec. One thing is certain, the present economic environment does not in any way suggest that labour force training is no longer an economic development issue. It will be impossible for the actors to ignore this fact in future assessments of Quebec public policy on occupational training.

Resumen

El sistema quebequense de formaciòn profesional ha conocido cambios importantes durante los anos noventa. La nueva articulaciòn institucional de este sistema a sido traveseada de multiples influencias politicas y econòmicas, de las que una de las caracteristicas mayores es la participaciòn sostenida de los actores principales de las relaciones industriales. Nosotros proponemos aquì un anàlisis de lo que nombramos como la modernizaciòn del sistema de formaciòn profesional en Québec al retrasar las orientaciones del comienzo y su lògica sobre entendida, al identificar las influencias exteriores que permitieron especificar la experiencia quebequense y al concluir sobre los principales desafìos que confrontaban los actores.