Boosting the Retention of Immigrant Personnel in Business: An Exploratory Study of the Impact of Innovative Practices in the Cities of Quebec City and Sherbrooke

In this pilot study, we examine retention rates for immigrant labour in workplaces in the cities of Quebec City and Sherbrooke. In Quebec, immigrant workers still encounter numerous structural barriers to accessing employment and professional development within firms (Boudarbat and Grenier, 2014; Boudarbat and Boulet, 2010; Eid, 2012). Various programmes (equal access, regionalization, professional mentoring, matching, and so on) put in place in recent years by employability and intercultural outreach organizations working with private and public firms appear to have met with some success in regions with low immigration density, in fostering access to employment. Furthermore, a number of initiatives appear promising and productive for supporting the integration of immigrants into private sector workplaces. However, few studies currently exist on the retention of immigrant workers within firms. Moreover, obstacles persist in the implementation of employment equity programmes and in their acceptance by staff across various public and private firms in regions of Quebec characterized by low immigration density.