Youth is not a cost, it's our future!
Apprenticeship is not a burden, it's an investment! In the opinion of (almost) everyone, our 2018 reform (loi Avenir professionnel) is a great success
- 320,000 apprentices in 2028, 1 million today
- significant contribution to reducing youth unemployment
- enthusiasm for young people who can choose a career they love, and pursue free vocational studies up to the age of 30, from CAP to Master's degrees and engineering degrees; social advancement for the most disadvantaged is finally possible
- a very strong commitment on the part of craft, industrial and service companies to meet their needs for skilled workers in short-staffed occupations, and to support the transfer of small businesses throughout the region.
- strong involvement of CFAs, apprentice training centers and training organizations, which have diversified and expanded their offerings
- apprenticeship is the most successful route to employment, with 2/3 of young people in work after 6 months
- at the WorldSkills in Lyon, our apprentices shone and demonstrated their excellence to the world.
Apprenticeship: a dead end?
Together, we have broken this pseudo-fatality, and opened up the field of possibilities for young people. There have been a few excesses and mistakes? Of course, reality is never perfect and we have to correct what needs to be corrected.
But without fighting the wrong battle:
- I'm outraged that the two recent cuts in contract costs (= what a CFA receives to train a young person) have affected even sub-BTS training, threatening the quality of training for care assistants, cooks and many other essential trades. It should be remembered that the cost of training an apprentice is considerably lower than that of a vocational high-school pupil or student.
- company aid is excessive for the national budget? During the COVID crisis in 2020, we increased aid to companies to safeguard young people's contracts, in parallel with partial activity for employees. However, I propose to maintain this level of aid for the hiring of disabled young people, who are too few in the apprenticeship scheme (less than 1.5%), in the run-up to the Paralympics.
Soyes, all together, let's believe in our young people and allow them to grow, learn, become passionate and take over!
Muriel Pénicaud
