They are neither dropouts nor lacking in motivation. But Yvenaëlle, 24, and Antoine, 26, had a blocked horizon in their professional career when they pushed the door of the Pôle Emploi agency in Versailles (Yvelines). For several weeks, they followed the system of the Youth Engagement Contract (CEJ) launched in March 2022 by the State. A personalized 6-month course which aims to help people under 25 define their professional project and find a job.
In France, more than 300,000 young people (including 20,000 in Ile-de-France) far from employment have signed a CEJ since its launch, with a rate of access to sustainable employment of 43% for the first beneficiaries. , Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne announced in early March. 63% have accessed a job of one month or more in the 9 months following their entry, and 43% to a contract of more than 6 months.
“Above all, I gained in self-confidence”
A Pôle emploi adviser in Versailles, Benjamin Safar has been supporting around thirty young people for the past year. He confirms a fairly high success rate on his agency, knowing that 205 people signed the CEJ system in 2022. “70% have found a job, assures the professional. When they come knocking on our door, they are sometimes a little unmotivated young people who have experienced ups and downs and our role is to maintain a dynamic. The notion of commitment is important and everything depends on their autonomy. The system requires 25 to 30 hours of support per week and financial aid of up to 520 euros per month depending on the level of resources.
Yvenaëlle and Antoine were part of the first promotion of the CEJ. Mother of a little Ephraim, 1 year old, the 24-year-old young woman holds a professional administration baccalaureate but missed her aesthetic CAP. “I am very shy and I lost my means a little during the interviews, she testifies. Above all, thanks to the CEJ, I have gained in self-confidence and I feel more fulfilled. »
After being offered civic service at Pôle emploi, which trained her in the digital world, the single mother landed her first permanent contract in a beauty salon in Maurepas. “It was October 10, 2022, the date is engraved forever, says, all smiles, the one who lives in Vélizy-Villacoublay. It’s precious to feel useful, within a team of four people. Today, everything I do at work is for my son…” Yvenaëlle earns 1,393 euros net per month, and benefits from a single parent’s allowance from Pôle emploi, which gives her allows you to pay for childcare costs.
“All the doors were closed”
Antoine, 26, aspires to a career as a web designer. After a sales baccalaureate at Versailles, this resident of Fontenay-le-Fleury did a preparatory class in applied arts before taking classes at a drawing school in Angoulême (Charente). “Except that I then found all the doors closed, the clubs always asked me for experience but when you’re young, you don’t have any,” confides this resident of Fontenay-le-Fleury.
Thanks to the CEJ, he has broadened his skills with training in his rather specialized sector. But for lack of a lasting proposal, he accepted a job as a fixed-term postman in the city of Versailles. “You have to live and eat well,” he explains. The rounds are sometimes difficult, I work from 7am to 1.45pm, but it’s temporary. He earns 1,600 euros a month and has chosen to return to live with his mother in order to save to finance his life project, a trip to Japan at the end of the year. “We also follow them during their trial period to secure recruitment,” concludes Benjamin Safar.