Employment situation

Demographic concerns
Major industrial clusters
Economic diversification process
In summary

Demographic concerns (Top)

The Mauricie's employment situation is closely linked to demographic concerns that have been affecting our region in recent years. An aging population and youth migration to large urban centres are mainly responsible for a major demographic decline. Welcoming newcomers is therefore beneficial to our region, as it helps offset these demographic losses and meet manpower demands. Emploi-Québec is forecasting that more than 22,600 jobs will become available in the Mauricie region by 2010.

Major industrial Clusters (Top)

The Mauricie's economy has historically been based on large resource development and processing companies. Even now, the major industrial clusters that have grown around them are an integral part of the regional economy.

Hydroelectricity
Logging
Farming
Metal processing
Furniture making
Pulp and paper

Economic diversification process (Top)

However, in the last few years, the region has been set on a course of economic consolidation and diversification. For example:

Several small and medium-size specialized businesses have been created over time, thus changing the economic landscape of a region dominated by major industries (listed above). These businesses are now providing most of the manufacturing jobs.
Major growth has also been experienced in the service industry.
New sectors, such as social and cooperative businesses, have been playing a major role in the region's economic recovery and revitalization.
Several poles or niches of excellence are already operative or showing growth potential in the region (to learn more about them, visit the website of the ministère du Développement économique, Innovation et Exportatio)..
The recreation and tourism industry will play an increasingly important role in the region's economic activity. Our region has indeed exciting and diversified tourism assets based on its bountiful natural resources and the richness of its cultural and historical heritage.

In addition, the Mauricie is an important player in the field of knowledge advancement, at the regional, national and international levels, as reflected by the extensive research and development being done here. Our region's economic vitality is enhanced by the presence of a vibrant scientific community and several dynamic economic and technological development agencies. Specifically, in the scientific area, we have:

The Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, a major institution with a significant involvement in research at the international level;
Three technical and pre-university education institutions;
Several research centres;
The Technopole Vallée du Saint-Maurice, a research park made available to economic development agencies and developers to foster technological innovation.

Their activities are connected to poles of excellence in high technology and high-potential sectors such as hydrogen, metallurgy, electronics, the environment, biotechnologies, aeronautics, plastic heat molding, woodworking, furniture making, information technology, value-added paper, etc. The emergence of these new specialties provides exciting opportunities for technically-trained job seekers. Indeed, employers in all these lines of work increasingly require a specialized workforce.

In summary (Top)

In terms of EMPLOYMENT, the Mauricie region:

Is known for having experienced the hustle and bustle of Québec's early industrialisation period;
Had one of the most vibrant economies in the country in the 1950s;
Has been shaped by its industrial history; in fact, resource development and processing have been the driving force behind regional economic development and are still today an integral part of that development;
Has been implementing an economic diversification plan aimed at creating and sustaining diverse, high-quality jobs;
Is a global pole of excellence in pulp and paper technology and production;
Is one of the major furniture-making regions in North America;
Has a growing building materials industry.

Many jobs are available in technical fields (for example, there are many professional and technical job openings in health care, machining and welding).

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Where is the Mauricie?
Clic on the map.

This site was created with financial support from the ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles du Québec,
the Conférence régionale des élus de la Mauricie and SADC Centre-de-la-Mauricie. See complete credits.