Place for Youth is a project that invites young people to build their future in the Pontiac. It is aimed at students, coming from the Pontiac, who leave in order to finish their studies, and to diploma holders from the Pontiac who are ready to enter the labour market.

This annual project takes place during three weekends in the months of January, February and March. Its main objective is to stop the migration of young people from the Pontiac region towards urban areas, as well as to develop entrepreneurial adventures aimed at improving the living conditions in the small communities within the Pontiac.

The Pontiac Youth Employment Marketplace is sponsoring the Place for Youth project. Sixteen young people take part in the activities.

The first weekend in January is dedicated to the discovery of the region: its territory, its history, its demography and its employment and career possibilities. On the second weekend, young people are invited to training sessions on entrepreneurship, to workshops related to the preparation of their résumé and interviews. They exchange with community organizations, important aspects of the Pontiac community. Finally the third weekend allows them to visit businesses, and to discuss with employers whose sectors of activities are related to the field of study of each participant. In short, young people rediscover their region and create for themselves a network of contacts important for their future projects.

The enthusiasm and the positive reaction of participants have revived the hope of a dynamic changeover in the Pontiac.

Finally the Place for Youth project allows young Pontiac people to "Dream of their future in the region", as qualified workers or entrepreneurs, and to meet the various socio-economic actors of the Pontiac.

All young Pontiac people who wish to participate in the Place for Youth project please contact the Pontiac Youth Employment Marketplace at (819) 648-5065.

Standing, from the left : Alanna Malhoney (health sciences - physiotherapy), Primalia Lance (social sciences - accounting), Luc Morrissette (computers), Benedikt Kuhn (sociology), Marie-Josée Loisel (sociology), Julien Lamarche (computer engineering), Annie Vaillancourt (accounting), Daniel Roy (computers), Micheline May (multimedia)
Seated, from the left : Sébastien Gagnon (social sciences - law), Sylvie Brousseau (nature sciences - medicine), Chantal Sirard (special education), Kim Lesage (natures sciences – civil engineering), Chantal Lesage (social sciences – law), Nadine Thompson (documentation)