The Centre de services a l’emploi/Employment Services Centre of Prescott and Russell (CSEPR) provided individual employment counselling and support services to 3,420 clients in 2023-2024, according to its annual report released at the centre’s annual general meeting on September 24 in Chute-à-Blondeau.
CSEPR Board Chair Lionel Renaud said that during the past year, the board has taken measures to improve its accountability.
“We have also observed significant growth in our human resources, especially with the relocation of our Embrun offices with our long-term partner, Valoris,” Renaud said.
CSEPR has 38 employees working at its head office in Hawkesbury and at branch offices in Rockland and Embrun.
CSEPR Executive Director Caroline Arcand said the agency modernized its communication strategy during the past year and developed programs to better target specific segments of the local population with their employment needs.
“Youth, people aged 50 and over, immigrants, newcomers, and individuals living with disabilities have all benefited from tailored services,” Arcand said.
Initiatives to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in local workplaces were also another effort of CSEPR during the previous year.
During the 2023-2024 year, 33 per cent of the clients using CSEPR services were aged 30 to 44 and 19 per cent of clients were aged 45 to 55. Job seekers aged 55 and older composed 18 per cent of the centre’s clients. The remainder of clients were aged 29 and under. The average age of a CSEPR client during the past year was 40.5 years old.
Among CSEPR clients in 2023-2024, 54 per cent had an education level of Grade 12 or less and 24 per cent had a college diploma. Fourteen per cent of clients had a university degree.
In 2023-2024, 53 per cent of CSEPR clients were male and 46 per cent were female. One per cent identified as other.
The greatest number of CSEPR clients during the previous year were from Hawkesbury at 36 per cent, followed by Clarence-Rockland and 25 per cent. The third-greatest number of CSEPR clients in 2023-2024 were from Alfred and Plantagenet at 10 per cent.
