On Monday August 26, nearly 80 guests - young participants, family members and employers - attended the closing event of the Desjardins jeunes au travail program organized by Carrefour jeunesse-emploi de Vaudreuil-Soulanges (CJE-VS) in collaboration with Caisse Desjardins de Vaudreuil-Soulanges.

The reception, held at the Saint-Marseille community center in Pointe-des-Cascades, featured discussions and presentations, and marked the fifteenth edition of a program that has once again demonstrated its relevance in helping young people in the region gain their very first experience of the job market.

This year, 18 young people benefited from the program with the assistance of CJE-VS professional development advisor Cinthia Bourgon.

Jessica Myre, Director of the CJE-VS, commented: “The testimonials from the young people and companies were very moving and inspiring. “We are proud to be able to accompany them as they enter the job market, as this is a milestone in the development of their full potential.”

For her part, Isabelle Poirier, President of the Cooperation Committee and member of the Board of Directors of Caisse Desjardins de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, emphasized the importance of young people being able to count on a structured approach to ensure a positive immersion of their first experience on the job market: “The most beautiful reward is the one we have the pleasure of spending together, gathered here, to collectively close the end of the 2024 program, while being aware that, for young people, the best is yet to come. During the summer of 2024, the program participants had a work experience they will never forget. For all of them, it was an important step in their personal development, and for some, a call to individual surpassing.”

A total of 50 young people from the region took part in the first workshop of the Desjardins jeunes au travail program, held last April. Subsequently, 45 completed all the program's mandatory appointments.  

A 15th year comes to an end 

The 2024 program has just completed its 15th year in the region. It was in 2006 that Carrefour jeunesse-emploi Vaudreuil-Soulanges and Caisse populaire des Seigneuries de Soulanges launched this brand-new cooperative project, enabling eight young Soulanges residents aged 15 to 18 to gain their first work experience by developing partnerships with local employers.

When the local caisses merged into a single regional caisse (Caisse Desjardins de Vaudreuil-Soulanges) in 2009, the administrators were keen to relaunch this program, given the positive effects generated by creating an annual educational lever enabling dozens of young students to access information workshops on introduction to the job market offered by the CJE-VS team. Since 2006, a total of 270 young people have had the opportunity to experience their first job or internship in 126 companies and organizations in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges region. 

A proven initiative 

Over the course of the evening, employer and employee duos were asked to speak briefly about their experiences with the Desjardins Youth Work Experience program. 

The first pair to speak was Charles-Olivier Bellerose Bélanger, General Manager of the Pointe-du-Moulin historic site in Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot, and his summer employee Lorelei Brown. 

“What I appreciated about this program is that it offers great opportunities for young participants, who are often gaining their first job experience. Our employee was a good listener, eager to do well. She was reserved at first, but became more confident as the weeks went by. She shared her ideas with the team and took great initiative,” he emphasized. 

For her part, the young woman also had good things to say to her employer. “I learned a lot about the workplace that I didn't know. Charles-Olivier was persevering, patient, always there for his employees. To him, we were like his children. He was always available to help us when needed.” 

Center d'action bénévole L'Actuel also took part in this regional initiative. The organization is a long-standing partner of Desjardins, and this summer welcomed two interns, one in the Business section and the other in the Internship section: Asaëlle Tesora Foko Moche and Maryam Katebian. 

“Asaëlle was very reserved, hard-working and definitely has great potential for the future,” confided Nathalie from CAB L'Actuel, who supervised one of the CAB's two human resources staff.  For her part, Charlène, who was Maryam's supervisor, also had nothing but good things to say about her. “She always had a smile on her face, and she was always on the ball. The proof? She never hesitated to write to me if I forgot an 's' or a period in an internal communication. She was always keen to improve her French.“

The experience was also appreciated at Les Coteaux, where Joëlle worked with Olivia at the day camp throughout the summer season. “Thanks to the Desjardins jeunes au travail program, I was able to acquire knowledge and skills that I didn't have on the job market. It was a great first experience. Joëlle was always attentive to her employees, kind and I never felt devalued, unappreciated or oppressed working with her,” confided the young woman. For her part, her boss Joëlle, went one better. “Olivia is hard-working and committed. She delivered a good level of performance during her time with us. She was professional and versatile. We know where she's going in life. We couldn't have hoped for a better candidate to join our team,” she asserted. 

Richard Dubois, the Caisse's Director of Communications and Associative Life, was called upon to lead this portion of the closing event to mark the program's 15th anniversary, and said he was proud to see how, over the years, the Desjardins Young People's Work Experience program has proven its enduring usefulness, and quite the contrary: “Since the program's inception in 2006, society has changed, as have the needs of young people, not to mention the economic conditions that have led our community to adapt. One of the great features of the program is that it has evolved in step with the times. It has been masterfully orchestrated by the Carrefour jeunesse-emploi team, who have always worked in the interests of young people and their personal development. “