Les Ateliers D'Antoine

“It’s probably the only company where once you become skilled, we send you away,” says Marjorie Arice, director at Les Ateliers d’Antoine, a carpentry and fine woodworking company that employs young people to help them reintegrate into society, the job market and school.

Founded in 1996, Les Ateliers d’Antoine offers a supportive infrastructure for 16 to 30 year olds. Recently, a 16-year-old employee was the winner of a contest launched to find a slogan for Les Ateliers d’Antoine: Pour que l’avenir nous rejoigne. (So that the future unites us). “The young people choose to be here. They come from many different and difficult backgrounds. Our objective is to create citizens and for young people to discover their passion,” says Marjorie.

One third of the youths choose to pursue a career in woodworking, while others return to school or enter different fields. Contracts last only six months, during which employees spend 80 per cent of their time in the studio and 20 per cent on personal work. There is a staff of therapists and social workers to help guide them and to assure their personal development.

And who is Antoine? “Everybody asks that, but there is no Antoine,” laughs Marjorie. “The name was taken from Mont St-Antoine, a Montreal youth centre. They started a work experience project in 1996 for high school drop-outs, which grew into a permanent program.”