La contribution des mutuelles de formation au développement des compétences de la main-d’œuvre au Québec
This thesis aims to identify the contribution that training mutuals make to skills development. It also seeks to understand the contribution these devices make to skills development in the workforce and the factors that influence them. In particular, it aims to identify the role institutional entrepreneurs play and the inherent institutional complementarities of these training mutuals.   On the theoretical level, this thesis is based on the neo-institutionalist approach, which is designed to analyze the contribution these devices make in skills development in the workforce and to look specifically at the concepts of "institutional entrepreneur" and "institutional complementarity." Our model of analysis is based on these two concepts and seeks to show whether (and how) institutional entrepreneurs and institutional complementarities influence the effectiveness of training mutuals.   From a methodological point of view, this thesis is structured around four case studies. The case studies centre on training mutuals in four sectors of economic activity in Quebec. The collection of the qualitative data was carried out by way of semi-structured interviews with both actors involved in training mutuals, as well as secondary sources.  The analysis of the results confirms varying degrees of importance in the way training mutuals contribute to skills development in the workforce. Beyond the variance between mutuals, our results indicate that, on the one hand, they increase the supply of training in response to the needs of the labour force of a given sector and thus have an impact on the scope of the sector; on the other hand, they facilitate the training funding application for companies and thus mobilize the actors of a sector to invest in training.  Analysis of the results shows that the contribution of a training mutual increases when the actors (in particular, an employers' association) offer a common vision and support the training mutual through their capacity as institutional entrepreneurs. In addition, our findings show that positive complementarities between mutuals and other institutions occur when the following takes place: mutuals’ mandate is clarified, financial and strategic resources are added, and there is collaboration with mutuals. These will all make a lasting contribution to skills development in the workforce.
Training Institutions Actors Institutional entrepreneurs Institutional complementarity Skills Skills development Workforce