After the near-exponential growth rates of 2020 and 2021, partly due to government support measures, apprenticeship has entered a normalization phase, which does not detract from the performance recorded last year. In fact, the number of contracts signed increased again by 100,000 to reach 837,000, an increase of 14%, still notable, given the volumes now reached.
At this level, the number of contracts signed in 2022 marks a new record, 2.7 times higher than it was in 2017, that is to say before the Pénicaud reform, which liberalized the operation of the learning. If this rate is maintained, the objective of 1 million per year set by Elisabeth Borne will be reached by 2024. “We have changed planets”, welcomes the entourage of the Prime Minister, who will present the figures this Friday, on the occasion of a National Council for Youth Refoundation (CNR) devoted to professional integration.
More than 10,000 disabled
Even sectors of activity historically not very open to this form of work-study employment of young people, such as health and social services, have converted to it. The distribution of new contracts by sector of activity is similar to that of overall employment, even if construction and craftsmanship remain over-represented.
In detail, 811,511 contracts were concluded in the private sector, with ETIs (between 250 and 999 employees) committing more and more, and 25,500 in the public sector, the two sections of the workforce progressing by the same amount. Driven by the obligation for apprentice training centers (CFA) to have a referent and by financial aid, the number of disabled people recruited did even better (+21%) to cross the 10,000 mark. last year.
Employment effect
Another noteworthy fact is that the distribution by qualification level seems to have stabilized. The bac or infra levels, which represented the bulk of the historic battalions, have taken on new colors since the reform, but progressed less quickly than those of the superior, which started from further away. Bac and CAP represent nearly 4 out of 10 apprentices, knowing that the enthusiasm for higher education has contributed to improving the image of learning, assure the CFAs and professional organizations. Incidentally, many young people who did not have the means were able to continue their studies by being paid.
For what results in terms of professional integration? On average, 6 out of 10 young people graduating in 2021 were in permanent employment – permanent or fixed-term contract for more than six months – six months after the end of their course. And even more than 7 out of 10 in training related to energy, chemistry or metallurgy. This employment effect remains more or less constant over the years, but, in the eyes of the government, it proves that quality always rhymes with quantity, especially since these figures must be assessed taking into account young people who are continuing their studies.
Focus on quality
The project of the quality of the pedagogy provided in the CFAs has nevertheless been the subject, since September, of meetings between the interested parties and the Minister Delegate in charge of Vocational Education and Training, Carole Grandjean. Even if we are waiting for a precise study from Dares on the subject, the gross rate of breach of contract – 1 out of 4, according to the Adecco foundation, the firm Quintet Conseil and the Walt association – remains worrying, even if it does not take not into account those who sign another one or who relaunch themselves, in high school pro in particular.
In addition to questions related to the strengthening of educational controls, which could give rise to measures in the “full-employment” bill expected by the summer, Carole Grandjean must in principle carry out consultations on the financing of learning once the pension reform is approved. Given the volumes reached, it is de facto unsustainable without State investment, as the apprenticeship tax paid by companies alone is not enough.
Finally, no apprenticeship fraud
Suspected at the end of 2020 of having taken advantage of state aid to the detriment of their apprentices, a dozen higher education establishments were finally cleared after an investigation by the Ministry of Labor.
The measure in question consisted of receiving 500 euros for a maximum of six months to keep young people in need of an employer, at a time when the Covid raised fears of a tsunami for their jobs. The investigation showed that these establishments helped them to find a contract while training them the time to achieve it, says a government source.