MFOR in Montérégie: funding employee training

MFOR in Montérégie at a glance

The Workforce Training Measure (MFOR) is Services Québec’s main direct funding tool for training employed workers. Montérégie is the second most populous administrative region in Quebec: the Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ) counts 1,522,372 residents in 2025, about 861,300 jobs in October 2026 and an unemployment rate of 4.6 %. Revenue from manufactured goods was about $35.0 billion in 2024, measured on the region’s boundaries before July 2021.

The region sits on Montreal’s South Shore, crossed by Highways 10, 15, 20 and 30, with large logistics centres, metal processing plants and many food processors. That concentration creates strong competition for skilled workers and steady demand for technical training.

Unlike an automatic tax credit, the MFOR works as a two-party agreement negotiated with a Services Québec business advisor. The advisor reviews your project, checks the trainers, sets the rate and commits funds from the regional budget. In Montérégie, demand from employers is high, so plan carefully to avoid arriving after the budget is committed.

Services Québec offices for Montérégie employers

MFOR decisions are decentralized. Each request is handled by the Services Québec office responsible for the establishment where the employees to be trained work. Montérégie has several service points with teams dedicated to businesses. Confirm yours with the official Services Québec office locator.

One boundary point matters. According to the ISQ, Montérégie’s administrative boundaries were redrawn on July 28, 2021, following decree 961-2021. If your business is near the edge of the region, check which regional directorate now covers your address before you file, because that decides which regional budget your agreement draws on.

Key sectors and applicable rates

Section 2.6.1.8 of the Guide des mesures et des services d’emploi sets the percentages by the type of learning. Three sectors are well represented in Montérégie.

Manufacturing and automation

Manufacturers that modernize their facilities can aim for the 75 % enhanced rate. It applies when training is made necessary by new equipment, robotic cells, CNC machine tools or production software (ERP, MES). Accepted costs cover the external trainer’s fees or an internal trainer’s time, plus adapted teaching materials. Operator wages can be eligible up to $25 an hour, but they are not granted automatically.

Food processing

The region has hundreds of farm and dairy processors. Eligible courses cover international food safety standards (HACCP, SQF, GFSI), automation of packaging lines and digital lot traceability. The rate is generally up to 50 %, and can rise to 75 % when training is made necessary by a technology upgrade of bagging or packaging lines.

Transport, logistics and literacy

At the crossroads of several major highways, carriers and warehouse operators can get funding to introduce warehouse management systems (WMS), fleet management and safe operations.

Francization is not eligible for the MFOR: since November 1, 2023, it falls under the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI). Since February 1, 2025, temporary foreign workers can no longer take part in funded activities, except those employed by an agricultural business. For literacy, the rate is 100 % of eligible costs, and these projects must include employee wages up to $25 an hour.

Worked example: a new packaging line in Saint-Hyacinthe

Take a Saint-Hyacinthe food business with 65 employees. The plant invests in a new automated tray-packing line and must qualify 14 operators and maintenance technicians on programmable controllers and cleaning protocols.

Because the project follows a new production technology, the advisor can apply the 75 % enhanced rate:

• Possible Services Québec contribution: $24,750 (75 % of $33,000).
• Remaining direct training cost for the employer: $8,250 (25 % of $33,000).
• Participant wages paid by the business: $18,500.

If the advisor approves this rate, the grant could cover three quarters of accepted expenses, or about 48 % of the $51,500 total. Run your own scenario in the MFOR calculator.

How to apply with your local office

The process follows a strict sequence, set out in our guide on how to apply for the MFOR:

1. First contact with the business advisor at your local office to present your plans and confirm basic eligibility.
2. Skills needs review with the advisor, who checks that the project meets a regional economic need such as technology upgrading or a skills shortage.
3. A structured training plan with learning objectives, trainer profile, a detailed quote by expense and the session schedule.
4. Signature of the agreement before the first hour of training. No expense made before signature is reimbursable.
5. Delivery, careful collection of supporting documents (attendance sheets signed by participants, paid invoices, proof of payment), then reporting to receive payment.

Processing usually takes six to ten weeks between first contact and signature.

Regional budgets are allocated on April 1 for the whole fiscal year. In Montérégie, the large manufacturing volume regularly puts pressure on available funds by late autumn. Starting talks in the second calendar quarter (April to June) is the safer plan.

Other funding to combine

Montérégie businesses can use several programs alongside the MFOR, as long as they respect the rules on stacking public assistance:

• C3i tax credit: the investment and innovation tax credit (C3i) supports the purchase of manufacturing equipment, computer hardware and management software. The MFOR funds the human side by training your teams on that same equipment.
• Large training projects: for major expansion or industrial transformation, related training can be handled under the regional MFOR or, above $100,000, under large training projects (MFOR-E).
• 1 % Law: only your net share of MFOR costs, after the grant, counts under the Act to promote workforce skills development and recognition.

The key rule is to split every invoice: MFOR eligible costs cannot be the subject of a second direct funding request to another public body.

Preparing your MFOR application in Montérégie

We help Montérégie employers plan and build their files with Services Québec:

• technical review of your industrial investments to support the 75 % enhanced rate for automation or new equipment;
• a structured training plan that follows the categories in the ministerial guide;
• a budget breakdown coordinated with Quebec tax credits (C3i, R&D);
• support during exchanges with the business advisor until the agreement is signed;
• organized reporting and checked supporting documents so the funds can be paid.

Neighbouring regions have their own pages: see the MFOR in Montreal and the MFOR in Laval.

What Canadian Funding Partners does

Canadian Funding Partners helps businesses identify relevant funding programs and coordinate their applications with specialized partner firms. Where a file needs accounting or engineering expertise, that work is done by qualified professionals at those firms. We do not administer the MFOR and do not represent Services Québec. We do not promise any financial result; grants remain at the discretion of the public body. To have your project reviewed, book a free eligibility assessment.