Given the significance of the health situation faced by young students, the president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Region, Renaud Muselier, plans to implement, in addition to the National Plan, three new tools to encourage businesses to hire these young people in search of an internship or employment.
For nearly a year, France has been experiencing an unprecedented crisis, with dramatic health, economic, social, and psychological consequences. Indeed, our economy has undergone a record recession with a drop in our GDP by 8.3%. At the end of the year, unemployment reached nearly 9%, including 21.8% among the youth. The number of hires for those under 26 on permanent contracts (CDI) and fixed-term contracts (CDD) longer than three months fell by 14.2% in 2020 compared to 2019.
“Our young people are in a situation of financial, food, and psychological distress.
This year, they must face a significant decline in offers for internships, apprenticeships, or jobs, notably the “odd jobs” or seasonal jobs that often benefit the most vulnerable young people. Our young graduates in 2020 and 2021 who are entering or will enter the job market this year face a tough market given the uncertainty of the health and economic context. The solution is not to give them a universal income, but to provide, today, solutions in terms of internships and employment to offer them future prospects.
Each year, the Region invests a third of its budget for the youth, totaling 765 million euros. Since October 2020, we have implemented a concrete battle plan to help them. In addition to the national plan “1 youth, 1 solution”, we have developed a ten-million-euro plan for job recovery and youth training, thus encouraging businesses to hire young people, support job seekers, and guide them.” declared Renaud Muselier, president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Region.
Today, the region is releasing two million euros to launch three tools to complement the National Plan, thus encouraging businesses to hire young people for internships or employment:
- 500 young people in companies – 1 million euros: A flat-rate grant of 2,000 € to business leaders who employ a young person under 26 on a permanent contract (CDI) or a fixed-term contract (CDD) of over six months full-time, starting from April 1st, and having left the school system or professional training in 2020 or 2021. 500 targeted companies.
The goal is to support all students at the end of their studies in search of their first job.
- 500 young people in internships – 500,000 €: A grant of 200 € per month to companies and associations that hire young people in paid internships of 2 to 6 months, starting from April 1st.
The goal is to support all students in search of an internship to validate their year.
- 500 young people in student jobs – 500,000 €: A grant of 600 to 1,300 euros to the company or association that employs a scholarship student starting from April 1st for a work contract of a minimum duration of 10 hours per month.
The goal is to support all students in search of a student job to overcome this financial precariousness.
- 2,000 apprentices currently without business contracts and who do not see their apprenticeship year validated: They will benefit as a priority from a professional qualifying training provided by the region.
“These measures, to be voted on at the Plenary Assembly on April 23rd, should particularly allow us to anticipate, in the short term, the difficulties encountered on one hand by our farmers struggling to recruit seasonal workers ahead of the next harvest, and on the other hand by tourism professionals for the upcoming season with employment numbers that range from 82,000 during low periods (October/November) to more than 160,000 during the summer period.
We do not want a sacrificed generation in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. It is our responsibility to offer them future prospects. This is the message I convey with all the Presidents of the Regions: the urgency for our youth. Therefore, I call on all businesses and economic actors to commit alongside us for youth employment.” added the president of “Régions de France”.
