This growth can be observed in Table 2.4 as well as in many studies (including DFNFMO, 2005; DGAFMO, 2000) for all organizations regardless of their size. In fact, participation has doubled in very small firms, from 7% to 14%. It has increased by 4 percentage points in small firms, by 7 points in medium-sized ones and by 15 points in large ones. However, while the data indicate that Quebec has practically made up the gap that existed between it and the rest of Canada in firms with a 100 or more employees, participation rates in employer-sponsored ALT in small and medium-sized companies (with fewer than 100 employees) remain significantly lower in Quebec. It is clear that in the case of small firms, Quebec still lags far behind. "The higher the total payroll group, the greater the proportion of employers who report investing at least 1% of their payroll in education and training"; however, as Table 2.2 indicates, "while the investment in ALT reported by large companies seems to have plateaued in 2000, that of small and medium-sized companies has grown since then" (DFNFMO, 2005, p. 22; transl.).

It is difficult therefore not to ascribe the quantitative changes noted, at least in part, to the implementation of the Quebec public policy on job related ALT. We shall now look at the likely effects on the development of an ALT culture and, even more important, at the institutionalization of that culture in human resource management practices.