Yesterday, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, represented by its president Jean Pierre Savarino, welcomed the mayor of Nice, the president of the department, as well as the prefect of Alpes Maritimes. With the presence of architects Mr. Cabane and Ms. Vezzoni, they discussed together the regional apprenticeship campus project, which will be one of the centers of the Eco-valley operation.
“Training the employees of tomorrow because our territory has a vital need for skills and talents to succeed in its current and future development.” This is the ambition of the CCI. The campus, which will be located at the heart of the Eco Valley, next to Simone Veil Street, will offer alternating courses of studies from CAP to Bac + 5 for the “emerging trades and skills of the territory.”
They pass through the fields of eco-mobility, health, or even commerce and maritime… Dual goals. For the enterprise, this training helps integrate the young. While for the apprentice, it allows them to apply their knowledge and therefore, increase their level of professionalism. Moreover, it will be exemplary in every domain. Ecologically, as well as accessibly and educationally (with digital), in this campus it will be “a pleasant place to learn and train.”
Besides, Christian Estrosi insists on expressing his discomfort at seeing this training undervalued: “70% of apprentices find a job less than 6 months after completing their training.” He provides the example of a woman he met, with a Bac +4 degree. She is both a lawyer and a chartered accountant, and chose to join this field because she thinks she will have “a better future.”
An antidote?
The Campus project responds to the region and the metropolis’s strategy for economic development, growth, and employment. Christian Estrosi recalled that in 2015, the number of apprentices was at a low: less than 27,500, compared to 29,000 in 1998. At the end of last year, the tally stood at 32,000. Today, the goal is to reach 50,000 by 2021.
The same sentiment is echoed by Charles-Ange Ginésy, president of the departmental council:
“Even though we no longer have the competence for employment and economy, the Alpes-Maritimes department remains fully involved with the stakeholders who undertake actions to tackle the youth unemployment, as it is a major societal challenge.”
Georges François Leclerc, prefect of Alpes Maritimes, aligns with the mayor of Nice. He highlights that the major problem with the French productive apparatus remains the demographic transition. “In the next 10 years, those who contributed to the years of postwar growth, those who made France a respected industrial power (…), it is this generation of entrepreneurs, employees, executives, and workers who will be retiring,” he explains.
For the state representative, the best antidote to face it and take over is the development of apprenticeships that train in know-how and trades.
Faced with such unanimity, the path is set, it only remains to be followed.
