Vitalité santé! A Major Project for Manitoba’s Francophone Community

30 January, 2025 | Initiatives and Projects

Réseau Compassion Network (RCN) and its community partners have obtained the support of Health Canada through the Société Santé en français to implement the Vitalité santé! initiative, which consists of developing a comprehensive action plan to align and coordinate strategies and activities for training, recruiting and retaining bilingual health and social service workers, across the continuum from secondary education to professional settings.

A partnership between RCN, Shared Health, Université de Saint-Boniface, Santé en français Manitoba, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and the Centre de santé Saint-Boniface – making up the steering committee – as well as a large number of organizations called upon to contribute to the project through their participation in the partners’ table, The initial five-year project aims to adapt existing services to improve access, develop knowledge about the needs of Francophone communities, and facilitate the integration of human resources in the health and social services areas identified as priorities, particularly for the most vulnerable Francophones.

Students get hands-on experience in the St. Boniface Hospital Youth BioLab. (photo: courtesy of St. Boniface Hospital)

 “RCN and the many community partners involved are proud to combine their respective efforts and skills in an effort to develop a robust plan that identifies innovative projects to fill gaps and implement initiatives that will be sustainable and benefit all stakeholders,” says Réseau Compassion Network Board Chair Arlene Wilgosh.

“This project will enable the network of partners to optimize existing strategies and activities, while creating favourable conditions for the development of potential new solutions to meet human resources needs in Manitoba’s health and social services sector,” says Joel Lafond, Provincial Manager (Francophone Health, Health System Integration and Planning) at Shared Health.

Indeed, the work is well underway, with two projects already launched. The first – an interactive curriculum for students in the Division scolaire franco-manitobaine (DSFM) and immersion schools – will be piloted as early as spring 2025. The program, which includes simulations, interactive activities and hands-on experiences, aims to introduce students to the various careers in the health and social services fields. A pilot phase will be launched in an urban school to assess the impact of the activities and refine the content before wider implementation. The aim is to encourage students to consider these essential bilingual careers, while tailoring programs to the needs of young people and local communities.

The second initiative – an integrated French language skills assessment system – is currently being developed as a pilot project. Based on artificial intelligence, this innovative tool will enable rapid, standardized assessment of the language skills of candidates for bilingual positions. Designed to reduce hiring times, the system will also simplify the user experience and boost candidates’ confidence in their language skills – a key issue for recruitment in a minority context.

In addition, consultations to develop customized training for French-speaking care assistants have also begun. In collaboration with employers, newcomers and training organizations, this project is due to start this quarter, with a focus on strengthening bilingual language skills in these roles, which are considered essential in the community.

Réseau Compassion Network is proud to act as the leader of this project, which is closely aligned with our mission to identify unmet needs in the community and respond to them to the best of our ability. Similarly, through this major project, Réseau Compassion Network is strengthening its commitment to the French-speaking world: eleven of our member organizations are designated bilingual or offer services in both official languages.

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