Labour Force

A Highly Qualified Workforce

• With eleven higher-learning institutions, including four major general vocation universities and numerous specialized colleges and schools, Greater Montréal has qualified and talented human capital. Moreover, the Montréal area ranks first in North America for the number of university students per capita.
• Greater Montréal has over 170,000 university students, in addition to an enrolment of over 120,000 college students and over 50,000 students in vocational training.

Greater Montréal is the metropolitan area in Canada with the highest number of university students and which attracts the most foreign university students, specifically graduate students.
 

• Close to 50% of the Greater Montréal population between the ages of 20 and 64 holds a college diploma or university degree.
• Greater Montréal has a high quality, diversified university education system. According to rankings in the prestigious London Times Higher Education Supplement, Montréal is one of the few cities in the world to have two or more of the best one hundred universities on the planet.

A Bilingual, even Trilingual Workforce

As a multicultural metropolis, Montréal is a veritable linguistic mosaic. Over half of its population is bilingual, speaking fluent French and English, and close to one-fifth speak at least a third language.

Overall, some 80 languages are spoken in the Greater Montréal area, a key benefit for trade with foreign markets.