Acquiring training if necessary

Adults undertake or resume studies for a variety of reasons:

• to upgrade their skills to meet the demands of a trade or profession
• to facilitate their entry into the job market
• to acquire new general or vocational training
• for personal interest.

A broad range of study programs is available to adults: full-time or part-time courses, offered day or night, distance and online, etc.

Adult education centres, which are run by school boards, offer literacy services, pre-secondary studies as well as general and vocational studies. Colleges and universities also offer continuing education programs.

Depending on your education needs, contact an educational institution or community organization. You can also contact Info Apprendre by calling the toll-free number 1-888-488-3888. This is a free and confidential service that provides help and advice to anyone wishing to complete their studies, from basic education to completion of a college or university diploma. You can also contact the Immigration-Québec office in your region for more information on how to choose from among the available resources.

Admission to some programs

Before you can be admitted to a general, vocational or technical study program, the school board or college must ensure that the studies you completed outside Québec fulfil the minimum admission requirements of the program in question.

Consequently, you may be asked to provide an Évaluation comparative des études effectuées hors du Québec (comparative evaluation of studies done outside Québec). This document is meant as a reference only. Based on the opinion of experts, it does not in any way bind the educational institution which has exclusive authority in determining training equivalencies for admission purposes to their programs of study, according to their own methods and evaluation criteria.

You can also find out from the school board or college how to obtain recognition of any knowledge or skills you acquired outside the classroom.

Useful links

• Québec Portal (information on Government of Québec programs and services as well as many other useful public services)
• Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport:
  • Formation générale des adultes
• Formation professionnelle et technique et formation continue
• La reconnaissance des acquis et des compétences
• Répertoire de la formation continue
• Télé-université
  Formation à distance, ressources et cours offerts
• Réseau d’enseignement francophone à distance du Canada
• Le Formateur
  Portal of online studies (computer science and languages) offered by 16 CEGEPs in Québec
• Société de formation à distance des commissions scolaires du Québec
• Cegep@distance