Emploi-Québec and French courses
Potentially super boring topic, apologies in advance.
Here's my disclaimer: I love Québec. I love it intensely. I don't put up with guff from my anglophone friends who insult it or complain about it. I purposely chose to make my life here, and I'm about as dedicated to learning French as anyone can be. I would study French around the clock if I could.
Now then: I'm also super poor. I'm in the middle of a career shift that's put me back at square one professionally speaking, and because of that I'm pretty broke. It's a long story that involves having been on tour in Europe for the past six months, which is where all of my funds went. So, okay - I don't mind paying $60 to take Francisation for two months at thirty hours a week. That's a steal, frankly! When I first began to study French, it was at a summer intensive in Québec City that charged $250/week! This is basically free, and I am highly appreciative. However, I still need to pay my rent. I make a teeny, tiny bit of money in small jobs related to my last field (classical singing - aka, I sing for pay in a church choir, I teach voice lessons at a commercial studio one evening per week, etc.), but it's really not going to pay the rent.
I have four friends, all of whom are Canadian/not-Québécois, and non-immigrant, who are receiving funding from Emploi-Québec to take French. All four of them went to the Plateau office of EQ, explained how they have marketable job skills and would really love to work, only their French skills were holding them back. After a bunch of conversations in back rooms, etc., all four of them were told on the DL that they could be funded, that the funding was normally only applicable to immigrants, but that they could receive this particular funding under the label of job training or something. Two of these people got this funding over three years ago, but the other two are being funded as we speak.
So, I got myself to that same office, explained how I was a bank teller (true story) and would love to go on being one, only my French is intermediate and not quite sophisticated enough for a bank setting just yet, and that I was aware that I would need to take French. All they would tell me was that I would need to apply for unemployment or welfare (!!) in order to support myself while taking French full-time. I eventually said that I knew that they offered funding for this, and they denied it absolutely. I said that I understood if I wasn't eligible, but that they definitely did give people money to study French. They denied that, too. So I don't know if I was being given the run-around, or I had an incompetent fool or what, but I was angry. So I just went to a language school, did the placement test, paid the $60 and started class anyway. That was a week ago and now I have about $60 to my name and I'm scared.
The only upside was that a) I love taking French, so I'm happy about that, and b) they put me in a higher level than I thought I was, so at least it will take me less time to reach an acceptable level of French for the workplace. Meanwhile, though, what can I even do? If I'm taking French because I can't speak it well enough to work, how do I even get a part-time evening job to support myself? I was just told that I'm not eligible for unemployment because my bank job was as a casual employee, and all of my other work has been as a freelance singer. Any help would be hugely appreciated, especially on the Emploi-Québec front!
Here's my disclaimer: I love Québec. I love it intensely. I don't put up with guff from my anglophone friends who insult it or complain about it. I purposely chose to make my life here, and I'm about as dedicated to learning French as anyone can be. I would study French around the clock if I could.
Now then: I'm also super poor. I'm in the middle of a career shift that's put me back at square one professionally speaking, and because of that I'm pretty broke. It's a long story that involves having been on tour in Europe for the past six months, which is where all of my funds went. So, okay - I don't mind paying $60 to take Francisation for two months at thirty hours a week. That's a steal, frankly! When I first began to study French, it was at a summer intensive in Québec City that charged $250/week! This is basically free, and I am highly appreciative. However, I still need to pay my rent. I make a teeny, tiny bit of money in small jobs related to my last field (classical singing - aka, I sing for pay in a church choir, I teach voice lessons at a commercial studio one evening per week, etc.), but it's really not going to pay the rent.
I have four friends, all of whom are Canadian/not-Québécois, and non-immigrant, who are receiving funding from Emploi-Québec to take French. All four of them went to the Plateau office of EQ, explained how they have marketable job skills and would really love to work, only their French skills were holding them back. After a bunch of conversations in back rooms, etc., all four of them were told on the DL that they could be funded, that the funding was normally only applicable to immigrants, but that they could receive this particular funding under the label of job training or something. Two of these people got this funding over three years ago, but the other two are being funded as we speak.
So, I got myself to that same office, explained how I was a bank teller (true story) and would love to go on being one, only my French is intermediate and not quite sophisticated enough for a bank setting just yet, and that I was aware that I would need to take French. All they would tell me was that I would need to apply for unemployment or welfare (!!) in order to support myself while taking French full-time. I eventually said that I knew that they offered funding for this, and they denied it absolutely. I said that I understood if I wasn't eligible, but that they definitely did give people money to study French. They denied that, too. So I don't know if I was being given the run-around, or I had an incompetent fool or what, but I was angry. So I just went to a language school, did the placement test, paid the $60 and started class anyway. That was a week ago and now I have about $60 to my name and I'm scared.
The only upside was that a) I love taking French, so I'm happy about that, and b) they put me in a higher level than I thought I was, so at least it will take me less time to reach an acceptable level of French for the workplace. Meanwhile, though, what can I even do? If I'm taking French because I can't speak it well enough to work, how do I even get a part-time evening job to support myself? I was just told that I'm not eligible for unemployment because my bank job was as a casual employee, and all of my other work has been as a freelance singer. Any help would be hugely appreciated, especially on the Emploi-Québec front!