Foreign Workers in Quebec: Why employers need to act now on French-Language Training
You invested in recruiting your foreign workers. You invested in onboarding and training them. Are you now ready to invest in their French-language skills so you can retain them?
For many Quebec businesses, recruiting foreign workers has provided a practical solution to labour shortages in recent years.
International recruitment, administrative procedures, work permits, support upon arrival, onboarding, and job training—all of these mean that welcoming a foreign worker often represents a considerable investment for an organization.
But a new reality must now be incorporated into human resources strategies: proficiency in French is becoming increasingly important in determining whether certain foreign workers can continue their professional and immigration journey in Quebec.
For employers, French-language training should therefore no longer be viewed solely as a linguistic or regulatory matter. It is also becoming a workforce retention strategy.
2028 May seem far away. In reality, It’s just around the corner.
The Quebec government has introduced a new language requirement for certain temporary foreign workers.
A person applying for a Quebec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ) under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), after having accumulated three years of work-related residence in Quebec, will be required to demonstrate oral French proficiency corresponding to Level 4 of the Quebec scale of French proficiency levels.
A transitional measure is provided for workers who are already in Quebec: verification of French proficiency will apply to temporary selection applications submitted as of December 17, 2028.
However, certain categories of workers are exempt, including foreign agricultural workers. This date may give employers the impression that they still have plenty of time.
French-language training must therefore begin well before the work permit renewal process.
Level 4: What does it mean in practical terms?
Level 4 of the Québec Scale corresponds to a level of communication ability that enables a person to begin functioning relatively independently in a variety of everyday situations. The goal, of course, is not for the worker to have a perfect command of French. However, they must develop sufficient ability to understand and express themselves orally in French.
For employers, this means that waiting until only a few months before a renewal application to begin French courses is a risky strategy.
A worker who begins learning early enough can progress gradually, consolidate their skills and, most importantly, use French directly in the workplace.
This is precisely where employers can play a decisive role.
Why risk losing that investment over a language requirement that can be anticipated?
French-Language Training is not an additional expense: It protects your investment
This is probably the most important shift in perspective for employers.
When a company has invested thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours in recruiting, welcoming, onboarding, and training a foreign worker, funding or facilitating that worker’s French-language learning should not be viewed as a separate new expense.
Instead, the training should be considered the final step in protecting the investment that has already been made.
The equation is relatively simple: Recruit + onboard + train + provide French-language training = increase the chances of retaining the worker over the long term.
French Learned at Work Is Also Useful… at Work
There is also an immediate operational benefit. French-language training for foreign workers can be tailored to the realities of the company. Vocabulary, role-playing scenarios and exercises can focus on communication with supervisors, work instructions, health and safety, equipment, procedures, team meetings, interactions with colleagues, customer communications and real-life situations encountered on a daily basis.
The objective is therefore not simply to prepare someone to meet a government requirement. It is to enable them to work progressively more in French.
As a result, the company can benefit from the training well before the worker reaches the targeted language proficiency level.
How long will it take them to reach the required language level?
Without an initial assessment, the employer is operating blindly. The first step should therefore be to establish a language profile of the organization’s foreign workforce. It then becomes possible to determine who needs training, what level should be targeted, and what French-language training path would be realistic.
A Shared Responsibility Between the Worker and the Employer
Ultimately, the responsibility for achieving the required language level rests with the worker.
However, employers have a powerful role to play.
They can facilitate access to courses. They can allow time for learning that fits within work schedules. They can offer training tailored to their industry. They can measure progress. They can encourage the use of French in the workplace.
Most importantly, they can start early enough.
For a worker who is simultaneously working full-time, adapting to a new country, and sometimes supporting a family, learning French independently can represent a considerable challenge.
An employer that provides structure and support throughout this process increases the likelihood of success.
Turning an obligation into an opportunity
French-language training is sometimes presented solely in terms of the obligations arising from Quebec’s evolving language framework, particularly since the adoption of Bill 96.
However, for businesses, the issue goes far beyond compliance.
A worker who improves their French can generally communicate more effectively with colleagues, understand procedures more easily, participate more actively in meetings, advance professionally, and integrate more sustainably into the workplace.
French-language training therefore becomes, at the same time, a tool for integration, productivity, internal mobility, and retention.
Employers: Five Actions to Take Now
There is no need to wait until 2028 to take action. Companies that employ foreign workers can begin now by:
- Identifying the workers concerned:
Document their situation, how long they have been in Québec, and their medium- and long-term plans. - Assessing their current level of French:
An assessment makes it possible to determine the gap between their current proficiency and the level they may eventually be required to reach. - Establishing a realistic progression plan:
A beginner does not move instantly to Level 4 or Level 7. Progress must be planned over time. - Providing training tailored to the workplace:
The more closely the learning reflects real workplace situations, the more easily it can be applied on a daily basis. - Measuring progress regularly:
Interim assessments make it possible to adjust the training and avoid unpleasant surprises as an administrative deadline approaches.
The real risk is doing nothing
Quebec needs skilled workers. Businesses have invested tremendous effort in recruiting them. And many foreign workers now want to build their future here.
French-language training sits at the intersection of these three realities.
For employers, the objective should therefore not simply be to comply with an obligation. It should be to secure and retain their strategic workforce.
You may have invested thousands of dollars to recruit a worker from abroad. You invested time in welcoming and integrating them. Your managers and employees trained them. They now know your organization. They contribute to your operations.
There is one final step: giving them the language skills they need to maximize their chances of continuing their journey in Quebec.
Because ultimately, the real question may no longer be:
“How much will French-language training for our foreign workers cost?”
The real question is:
“Can we afford to lose a worker in whom we have already invested so much?”
Would you like to better understand your obligations and the french-language training options available to employers?
PME Création de valeur – Language School supports Quebec organizations in assessing their employees’ language skills and implementing French-language training programs tailored to their workplace realities.