Over 55,000 people have submitted applications to work at Quebec's CHSLDs

Premier François Legault says the government has received over 55,000 orderly training submissions after Quebec launched a recruitment initiative to fortify its staff at long-term care homes (CHSLDs).

The goal is to fill Quebec’s 10,000 understaffed positions at CHSLDs.

The government proposed a three-month training course which will be offered from mid-June to September. Legault says the training period will pay $760 per week. If students pass the training, their salary will get bumped to $26 an hour, or $940 a week — a yearly salary of $49,000.

Legault’s goal is to have 10,000 new orderlies ready to work in long-term care homes by this fall, in time for a possible second wave of COVID-19.

The campaign was officially launched on Tuesday.

• See also:
  • Quebec launches recruitment campaign to strengthen staff numbers at CHSLDs
  • Héma-Québec says it’s short 100 blood donations per day
  • 11 new coronavirus cases reported at Quebec IGA and Metros

The training course is tailored specifically for long-term care homes, which remains to be “difficult,” according to Legault, in terms of the ongoing pandemic.

Merci du fond du cœur aux 55 000 personnes qui ont entendu notre appel et qui ont soumis leur candidature pour devenir préposés en CHSLD.

Nous offrons un salaire avantageux de 49 000 $ par année, pour un travail difficile, mais tellement valorisant.

Engagez-vous! 👇 pic.twitter.com/uLNkCVd2Ja

— François Legault (@francoislegault) June 3, 2020

“I want to convince people that it’s not just money that’s important,” said Legault, last week. “We were missing people before the pandemic and what we are targeting now is to have enough staff to establish important relationships with all the residents.”

He added that besides the “interesting” monetary offer, the job can be “very rewarding and gratifying if you want to make a difference in people’s lives.”

Legault said some applicants could be asked to move to different regions throughout the province, depending on staffing needs, which would be done on a voluntary basis.

The premier initially said that the recruitment could be challenging but hopes the salary, benefits, and advertising process can help convince Quebecers to consider a new career as a care worker.