In a few years, apprenticeship has developed in unequaled proportions, to the point of increasing the share of young people in employment. This success, ” undeniable “ quantitatively, however, poses a problem because of its cost, which is difficult for public finances to sustain. In addition, the people most in difficulty do not benefit enough from the system, whereas it is precisely intended to address them, as a priority. This is shown by a very detailed report from the Court of Auditors, made public on Thursday, June 23.
The magistrates of Rue Cambon, in Paris, conducted a long investigation into the so-called “alternating” training. This concept refers to actions intended to acquire qualifications through back and forth between a company and an establishment providing theoretical teaching. To enter this type of course, there are mainly two ways: the apprenticeship contract (reserved for those under 30) and the professionalization contract (offered to a wider audience). These measures constitute a “strong axis” policies to combat unemployment, as the Court points out: thus, the share of apprentices in employment, “six or seven months after leaving training”is higher than that “graduates under school status”the difference being “more than 20 points on average”.
Between 2016 and 2021, the number of young people who started a work-study program rose from 438,000 to 799,000, a spectacular increase of 82%. Such an evolution is linked to the enthusiasm expressed for apprenticeship, with nearly 732,000 contracts signed in 2021 compared to 290,000 in 2016.
This “unprecedented growth” comes, in part, from the law “for the freedom to choose one’s professional future” promulgated in September 2018, which liberalized the training offer and radically modified the financing. This is now directly indexed to the activity of the apprentice training centers (CFA): each contract gives rise to the allocation of subsidies by a “skills operator”by virtue of a logic of “open window” which did not exist before the 2018 reform.
“Degradation” of an “unprecedented magnitude”
Another factor contributing to the surge in apprenticeship: the exceptional aid granted since the summer of 2020 to bosses who hire work-study students (5,000 or 8,000 euros, depending on the case). Their impact was powerful, while being accompanied by“significant windfall effects” In other words, money was paid to companies that would have recruited apprentices, even in the absence of government support.
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