The impact of the Act has also, though not primarily, been qualitative in nature; this new legislative context, its regulation and its institutions, tend to speed up the process of differentiating the education and training function in companies. Bélanger et al. (2004) observe that, in most of the establishments they studied, the obligations created by the Act have a structuring effect at the company level in that the education and training function becomes more systematized in the organization. The fact that so many firms have created a position of full- or part-time ALT staff position since the Act came into force is the result of more than mere chance. Of course, more fundamental factors linked to the organization of work have generated the new demand for ALT, and this is a key reason why companies have created these positions. However, it cannot be denied that this endogenous phenomenon and the external pressure produced by the enactment of the legislation have had a strengthening effect on the duty to report on ALT activities. The Act also provides an opportunity for some firms to inventory all the moneys invested in ALT through their different services (HRM, production units, quality control, occupational health and safety), to provide better accounting for all activities (tutoring, training of trainers, technical training, support for self-learning, etc.) and to better structure the ALT.
This effect of increased institutionalization, this heightened recognition for ALT in human resources management and on the production line or in quality control, like the recognition and lateral accounting of these often isolated activities that take place often in mutual ignorance, are all highly noticeable results.
Thanks to the availability of a minimum level of funding guaranteed under the Act for future years, an organization can more easily develop an ALT development plan extending over several years. Such a stable source of funding tends to make it easier to plan, beyond a one year basis, the ALT activities in the establishment in question. The more systematic monitoring of training activities that the Act requires also allows for better internal recognition of the importance of the investment that the company is making in the professional development of its staff. One should be prudent, however, before extrapolating the results of these limited observations to all companies in Quebec. Finally, while those responsible for ALT in companies stress the bureaucratic nature of the steps and initiatives required, their assessment tends to remain positive overall.
Recourse to the National Labour Force Training Fund (FNFMO) is necessary to obtain special financial support in order to implement a pilot project, develop an innovation, systematize evaluation, develop education and training in particularly reluctant sub- sectors or review the training of trainers themselves. It bears repeating that this fund was created by the legislation and with the contributions of businesses that fail to report spending 1% of payroll on ALT. The direct investments by the FNFMO in innovation, promotion, research and supporting actions in specific sectors, are significant, with more than $130 million having been allocated over the last five years (DFNFMO, 2005, p. 94). How the investment is made is just as important as the amounts allocated. Projects, such as in the area of research for example, are selected through open consultative mechanisms consisting of a dual selection process: relevance is determined by the socio-economic actors, and scientific quality by a scientific evaluation committee.
Beyond the quantitative effects of Bill 90 that we have discussed, the development of an organizational ALT culture is an important effect, especially since it relates to the very spirit of Bill 90.