Explore your future at the Laurier Competency Devlopment Centre – Pont Viau

Mr. Bletas spoke glowingly of the vast potential of the new program, addressing a group of about 100 dignitaries including Michelle Courchesne, Minister of Education and Minister Responsible for Laval Region, Laval mayor Gilles Vailancourt, MNA Alain Paquet in whose riding the new lab is located, and Senator Leonidas Housakos.

The lab, offering a state-of-the-art career exploration program in16 modules ranging from biotechnology to vinyl sign making, is designed for students to explore specific work areas in both theory and practice. Once having researched and explored content and background of a specific field, the student will proceed to hands-on application stage, carrying out projects with industry-standard equipment (machines and software).

"This new and exciting endeavour needed support from educational and business sectors in order for it to come to life," Mr. Bletas conceded, adding that the team behind the innovative initiative headed by Laurier Board Director-General Anne-Marie Lepage received overwhelming support from potential partners.

"All partners approached were instantly drawn-in by the project and very quickly recognized the benefits of having a career exploration lab available to our students," Mr. Bletas said, before thanking the 16 partners who provided financial support for the 16 modules of the program.

"It's a wonderful opportunity to get a taste of many possible careers," mayor Gilles Vaillancourt told Courrier Laval in an interview following the ribbon-cutting ceremony. "When I was a young person, we didn't have these kinds of opportunities. This certainly will be beneficial to the many young people who would like to try different things before deciding on a permanent career path," the mayor added.

Alain Paquet praised the project as a source of interest for young people to "discover various paths, allowing them to make their way through their contribution and reap the just return of their investment." Mr. Paquet noted that the various modules of the program will make it more real for young people to acquire knowledge and develop skills that will let them discover interesting job opportunities. The MNA linked the program to the need to fill some 700,000 jobs in Quebec in the next four years.

"Not everyone will make a career in the traditional academic professions," noted Sonia Montoni, V.P. Finance, Groupe Montoni Construction, one of the project partners. "A project of this nature will offer many opportunities for young people to pursue successful careers, in many fields," she told Courrier Laval. The sentiment was shared by Michael Canuel, CEO of LEARN (Leading English Educational and Resource Network) who pointed out that the needs of the future can only be met through multi-dimensional approaches such as those offered by a program of this kind.