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Each day… its proposal. Tirelessly, within the framework of his electoral campaign, Christian Estrosi proposes to turn the Region inside out like a sock! Yesterday, it was the turn of measures (at both the regional and national levels) aimed at completely reforming the apprenticeship sector, which he claims is running out of steam.
France trains 420,000 apprentices each year, compared to 1.5 million in Germany, and allocates 3.5 billion euros to apprenticeships.
The observation is without concession: “Since 2012, the socialists have destroyed 60,000 apprentice positions (-8% in 2013 and -3.2% in 2014) while setting a goal of 500,000 per year.” The right-wing candidate drives the point home: “This failure of the national left adds to that of the regional left, which over 18 years has not been able to increase the number of apprentices, which has stagnated at 29,000 per year since 1998 in Provence-Alpes-Cรดte d’Azur. This situation is all the more unacceptable given that millions of euros have been made available to the Region to achieve the goal of 42,000 apprentices per year.”
Since the Regional Councils have jurisdiction in this area, Christian Estrosi makes proposals at the regional and national levels through a legislative proposal, co-signed by his fellow deputies and heads of regional election lists (Xavier Bertrand, Marc Le Fur, Valรฉrie Pรฉcresse, Laurent Wauquiez).
At the regional level:
1) Creation of a large regional apprenticeship bank. The objective is to create a structure linked with businesses and social partners to connect young people with companies eager to hire them. The needs of the businesses and the training provided must align. Currently, the training is 3 years behind, and 25,000 job offers are not filled, which is staggering.
2) Implementation of a criterion in the tender specifications regarding the presence of apprentices in the companies that will be selected.
3) Development of partnerships with the regional community to highlight the skills of apprentices. This is what has been implemented in Nice with the City of Nice and the Nice Cรดte d’Azur Metropolis. This system provides young people with a pool of 163 professions and more than 12,000 agents.
4) Creation of junior companies within the CFAs (Training and Apprenticeship Centers).
At the national level:
1) Allowing apprenticeship starting at 14 years old: By providing young people with professional training as early as possible, they are better prepared for the business world. In this scenario, the interested student must be assured that their training path is protected. We propose to supervise this possibility of apprenticeship from 14 to 16 years by conditioning it with alternating training. This is the best way to continue studying while having one foot in the working world.
2) Align the working conditions of apprentices with those of employees: This alignment of working conditions is in the interest of all stakeholders. We must free apprentices and business leaders from the constraints that restrict them. Every apprentice should be able to enjoy the same working conditions as the employees of the company where they are doing their apprenticeship. They should be considered a salaried employee and have the same working conditions as such.
3) A single point of contact, the Region: Currently, two paths prepare for professional training: the Training and Apprenticeship Centers, and vocational high schools. This dichotomy is not clear either for students or for businesses. The Regions should manage these two entities to directly oversee professional training.
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