Name

Compétence Culture

Legal name

Compétence Culture

Website

https://competenceculture.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Compétence Culture is Quebec's sole sectoral workforce committee for the cultural sector, mandated by the CPMT to coordinate professional development, competency standards, and career resources across eight cultural subsectors via the Cultive.ca platform, a ~60-organization membership, and government funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Workforce Development

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Professional and Management Development Training (61143), Technical and Trade Schools (6115)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Continuing Education (CE/CPD) & Provider Accreditation Bodies (EDADACAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Professional Development / CPD Requirement Administration for Licensure (EDADAJAL), Professional Certification & Training Content Publishing (Exam Prep, CE/CPD) (MPAJACAL), Project, Quality & Operations (PMP PDUs, Six Sigma, Quality CE) (EDAAALAM)

Keywords

• Cultural workforce development
• Professional training services
• Sectoral committee services
• Workforce competency standards
• Cultural sector training

Headquarters

HQ city

Montréal

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership fees charged to individual members ($50/year) and organizational members (tiered by budget: $200-$300/year). Membership provides access to training, resources, and participation in the association's governance.
2. Government Funding: Core operational funding from the Commission des partenaires du marché du travail (CPMT) under the Act favouring the development and recognition of workforce competencies. Additional project funding from the ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec (MCCQ) and the ministère de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Compétence Culture is the sole sectoral workforce committee (CSMO) for the cultural sector in Quebec, formally recognized by the Commission des partenaires du marché du travail (CPMT). It develops and coordinates continuous training, conducts sectoral and regional workforce studies, produces professional competency frameworks and standards, and operates the Cultive.ca digital platform hosting a training catalogue, job and internship postings, and career development resources for cultural professionals across eight cultural subsectors.

Product overview

Compétence Culture operates as a single-product service organization centered on the unified Cultive digital platform, which integrates its core training catalog, career development resources (Culture et moi outreach campaign), and member services. Around this core platform, it delivers multiple programs and sub-initiatives including Intervention-Compétences (training financing), La Boîte à lunch (community of practice), Norme Libraire (bookseller professional standard), Culture en action and Chantier Filet social (strategic workforce initiatives), the MOOC Découverte (online course on cultural discoverability), Parcours DG (executive coaching), sectoral training needs studies, annual awards (Prix Je célèbre donc je suis), and the annual member conference (Rendez-vous annuel). The portfolio spans digital training delivery, professional standards, career promotion, research, and sectoral mobilization — all coordinated through the Cultive platform and Compétence Culture's training catalog.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cultive: Online platform for professional development in culture, featuring training catalog, job postings, and career resources.
• Culture et moi
• Culture en action
• Intervention-Compétences
• Norme Libraire
• La Boîte à lunch

Products and services

• Cultive Digital Platform A unified digital platform for skills development and professional training in Quebec's cultural sector, hosting a training catalog, job and internship listings, and member services for cultural organizations and individual cultural workers.
• Culture et moi Campaign A large-scale promotion and valorization campaign for cultural professions and careers targeting youth, deployed at education fairs across Quebec to showcase the diversity of cultural professions.
• Intervention-Compétences Programme A financing and coordination program for continuous training activities within the Continuous Training Model in Culture, supporting approximately 70 promoter organizations in delivering training across cultural disciplines.
• Norme Libraire (Professional Standard for Booksellers) A professional competency standard for the bookseller trade, defining skills and training benchmarks for the profession, administered in collaboration with the Association des libraires du Québec.
• La Boîte à lunch Community of Practice A community of practice for continuous training coordinators in Quebec's cultural sector, providing peer learning, networking, and resource sharing across cultural disciplines through virtual lunch sessions.
• Culture en action Initiative A major strategic mobilization initiative to improve working conditions and practice in the cultural sector, producing a 2023-2028 Action Plan for Human Resources in Culture with 11 objectives and 33 prioritized actions.
• Continuous Training Programs Structured training offerings including Introduction to Training Management in Culture (8 modules, 22 video capsules, 3h), Introduction to Training Design (4 modules), Sustainable Project Management (6h in-person), and Individual Training Accompaniment (5h AI-focused).
• Parcours DG Executive Coaching Program A customized support program for General Directors (DG) of cultural organizations, providing coaching, networking, and resources to navigate leadership challenges in the cultural sector.
• Sectoral and Regional Training Needs Studies Sectoral and regional studies identifying training needs across cultural disciplines (dance, music, theater, humor, visual arts, crafts, literature, museum studies), regularly updated triennially.
• MOOC Découverte (Massive Open Online Course on Cultural Discoverability) A French-Québec ministerial collaboration (with France's MCF) producing a MOOC on discoverability of francophone cultural content, developed by Compétence Culture and INRS.
• Annual Membership (Individual and Organizational) Annual membership program for individual members ($50/year) and organizational members (tiered $200-$300/year based on budget), providing access to training, governance participation, and resources for the cultural sector.

Quantifiable outcome

• Near 70 participants mobilized around social safety net in culture at a single event
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Commission des partenaires du marché du travail (CPMT)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1999The CPMT is the government body that formally recognizes Compétence Culture as one of 29 sectoral workforce committees (CSMOs) under Quebec's Act favouring workforce competency development. This mandate is the legal and operational foundation of Compétence Culture's existence.
• Société des musées du Québec (SMQ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the development of competency dictionaries for museum education (Éducation muséale) and collection management (Gestion des collections), producing standards-based tools for the museum sector.
• Regroupement du conte du Québec (RCQ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for the development of a competency framework for storytellers (Référentiel de compétences du conteur), completed in 2017.
• Conseil des métiers d'art (CMAQ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on a competency profile analysis for craftspeople in métiers d'art, initiated in 2021, addressing professional development needs in the craft trades sector.
• Réseau de l'enseignement en danse (RED)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on the inter-generational transfer of competencies for classical dance teaching, including production of teaching materials, DVD series, and regional training tours across six regions of Québec.
• Association des écoles supérieures d'art du Québec (ADÉSAQ)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership in the Culture et moi campaign to promote and valorize cultural professions among youth, targeting secondary school and post-secondary students considering cultural careers.
• Institut national de l'audiovisuel (INA, France)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on a CLOM (MOOC) on discoverability of Francophone cultural content, developed under the Franco-Québec strategy on cultural content discoverability, with support from both the Québec and French culture ministries.
• Regroupement pour la formation en audiovisuel du Québec (RFAVQ)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-mandated with Compétence Culture on the Mesure 21 of the Plan culturel numérique du Québec for digital skills development, with RFAVQ serving as co-mandataire in 2014–2015.
• Alia ConseilminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConsulting firm engaged for the Intervention-Compétences phase 2 reflection project and the development of the Praxeology training course for cultural sector managers.
• Réseau des femmes en environnementminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCaroline Larocque, advisor at the Réseau des femmes en environnement, serves as the trainer for the Gestion de projet durable (sustainable project management) training course delivered by Compétence Culture.
• Centre Louis-JollietminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdult education centre in the Commission scolaire de la Capitale-Nationale, designated as the promoter of the distance learning platform for career management (Gestion de carrière en ligne), financed by the MELS.
• HEC MontréalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompétence Culture is featured in HEC Montréal's DESS (Diplôme d'études supérieures spécialisées) programme in cultural management, with Louise Boucher highlighted in an interview on the importance of professional networks.
• Printemps numériqueminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaboration with Printemps numérique for the Mois numérique jeunesse at Complexe Desjardins, presenting cultural professions as part of the Culture et moi outreach campaign.
• Regional Cultural Councils (Conseils régionaux de la culture)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with regional cultural councils (e.g., Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, Montérégie, Mauricie, Lanaudière) to conduct regional studies identifying training needs, funded by the MCCQ across multiple years (years 2, 3, and 4 of the programme).

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Creative BC: British Columbia's crown agency supporting the creative industries, including workforce development. Comparable in mandate (provincial cultural sector support) but broader in scope (includes industry funding, export support).
• Conseil québécois de la musique: Quebec music sector association that Compétence Culture partners with and which delivers some of the same workforce development functions for a single subsector. A subsectoral counterpart to Compétence Culture's cross-sector model.
• Culture Montréal: Montreal-based advocacy organization for the cultural sector, operating with a similar member-driven model and Quebec focus. Adjacent in mission (sector support) but focused on advocacy rather than workforce development.
• Compétences Ontario: A workforce development body in Ontario for skilled trades and professions. Comparable as a sectoral workforce committee in structure and funding model, though focused on trades rather than culture.

Direct peers

• WorkInCulture: Ontario-based non-profit dedicated to cultural workforce development, providing training, resources, and career services for cultural workers. Directly comparable mission to Compétence Culture but operating in Ontario rather than Quebec.
• Cultural Human Resources Council (CHRC): The national Canadian counterpart to Compétence Culture, CHRC coordinates workforce development for the cultural sector across all Canadian provinces. Both organizations serve the same function (sectoral HR development) at different geographic scales, making CHRC the most direct peer.

Emerging players

• The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity: Canadian arts training and development institution offering professional programs for cultural workers. Comparable in providing training to cultural professionals, though as a venue-based institution rather than a sectoral committee.

Others

• Yapla: Association-management SaaS platform that powers the Compétence Culture members portal. A technology partner/enabler rather than a peer, but materially relevant as the infrastructure layer beneath the membership and training operations.
• HEC Montréal - Direction du développement exécutif: HEC Montréal's executive education division offers management training programs including a DESS in cultural management that Compétence Culture is featured in. A training and development partner with overlapping audiences in cultural sector management training.
• Compétences Québec (Réseau des CSMO): Network coordinating Quebec's 29 sectoral workforce committees (CSMOs), of which Compétence Culture is one. As a network body, it provides the collective advocacy and coordination framework under which Compétence Culture operates.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/comp%C3%A9tence-culture

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Compétence Culture