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By Cassandre Baillargeon
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THE EXPRESS MAGAZINE. Christopher Leblanc chose to do his end-of-college internship outside of Drummondville. For him, it was essential to try a new adventure after so many years in the same place and it was in Woodstock, Ontario, that his choice stopped.
“I had been offered the internship in Drummond and I like my workplace, but I wanted to go out elsewhere and see something new. When you often stay in the same place, you become too used to certain things”, underlines the graduate in business management.
Employed at Soprema in Drummondville since May 2019, Christopher started as a forklift driver, then he became a warehouse coordinator and finally a buyer. In Woodstock, still at Soprema, but in a factory inaugurated in 2020, he holds the position of assistant manufacturing manager.
On a daily basis, he manages production, teams, the vagaries of life that may arise in addition to working on the training of future employees.
Scheduled to be a one-month internship, Christopher requested that his stay be extended for a total of two and a half months. On the program, a different work atmosphere and tons of learning.
“I’m in a completely new environment, with a new team, it’s also an English-speaking environment, so even if we produce the same product, the atmosphere and the work experience are completely different than in Drummondville”, explains the young man of 21 years.
The size of the factory would have its role to play, according to him. In Drummondville, he works in a factory where there are about 150 employees, while in Woodstock, there are about 30 people. “There is a family aspect and we are really tight with each other. The values are different too. People are more familiar than in Quebec, they want to know people. In Quebec, we are more closed in on ourselves,” observes Christopher.
For this one, it is clear that he will create a family atmosphere in his future team. “Of course I will keep this aspect. You spend almost more time with your work colleagues than with your family. If you don’t get along well with your colleagues, it’s going to be boring,” he says.
Dreaming of becoming a plant manager, Christopher gathered a lot of information about himself as well as about the job he wants to do during his internship. “You may have all the courses in the world at school, it does not equal discussions with a person with a lot of experience who transmits his skills to you,” he says.
Over the past few weeks, this native of Drummondville has made enormous progress. “I thought I had a certain background, but I think I use 5% of what I know and the rest, the 95%, are things that I learned”, says the one who is also starting to s get used to his new city, his new colleagues and his new pace of life in Woodstock.
While he will soon be back behind the university benches, Christopher is not closing the door on trying an experience like the one this summer. By then, he will be back in his usual factory, balancing work and studies, but with a life background that is very different from a few months ago.
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