| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Source: Records of the Quebec Department of Revenue (MRQ), compiled by Emploi-Québec, and taken from DFNFMO (2006) | ||||
| Total payroll over $1 M | 10,317 | 10,743 | 11,121 | 11,068 |
| Total payroll between $500,000 and $1 M | 9,149 | 9,837 | 10,343 | 10,205 |
| Total payroll between $250,000 and $500,000 | 14,777 | 15,540 | 16,199 | 16,073 |
| Total | 34,243 | 36,120 | 37,663 | 37,346 |
Readers will be familiar with the amount of catching up Quebec has had to do since 1997 and even since 1990 (Bélanger, Doray, Labonté and Levesque, 2004). The data from general surveys (Adult Education and Training Survey (AETS 2002) (Statistics Canada, 2003), International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (IALSS 2003) (Statistics Canada and OECD, 2005), Working and Lifelong Learning (WALL, 2004) all suggest significant progress in making up this lost ground.
Statistics based on reports filed by firms (Direction du FNFMO, 2005, p. 4) indicate that, from 1996 to 2003, more than three-quarters of the firms subject to the legislation devoted at least 1% of their total payroll to work-related ALT (Table 2.2); this figure increased to 88% in 2003 for firms whose total payroll exceeded $1 million, 80% for firms whose total payroll was between $500,000 and $1 million, and 70% in the smallest ones (with total payrolls between $250,000 and $500,000).
An important point to note is the increase in the percentage of firms investing 1% or more. This is particularly true of firms whose total payroll is between $500,000 and $1 million (there was an increase in the proportion of firms that invested from 70% to 80% between 1997 and 2003), whereas this growth is less substantial in the other two groups.
The most significant data can be derived from a comparison of the surveys conducted in 1997 and 2002 by Statistics Canada of adult education and training (Statistics Canada, 2003). Even the overall comparison between these two surveys conducted by Statistics Canada and noted in the Five-Year Report (p. 34) shows that participation rates in "formal, job-related training increased in all provinces between 1997 and 2002. The largest growth was experienced in Quebec, where the participation rate increased 57%, from 20% to 32%" (Peters, 2004, p. 11). Participation rates in employer-sponsored training increased from 15% to 24% (Peters, 2004, p. 16) for the greatest increase among the provinces.