The slowdown is spectacular. In 2023, the number of apprenticeship contracts signed should be slightly below 860,000. Broadcast on the occasion of the traditional Epiphany cake ceremony, which took place on Friday January 5 at the Palais de l’Epiphanie. At the Elysée, in the presence of Emmanuel Macron, this figure remains on an upward trend, but progress continues at a much less sustained pace than in previous years. If the deceleration continues, it risks compromising the President of the Republic’s objective of achieving one million new apprentices in 2027.
The data provided by the entourage of the Head of State constitutes a forecast for 2023: assuming that they correspond to the final result – which will only be known in a few weeks – they highlight a slight increase less than 3% in one year, while the dynamic was much stronger before: + 14%, for example, between 2021 and 2022.
Since Mr. Macron’s first five-year term, apprenticeship has enjoyed unparalleled success. This system, combining immersions in companies and teaching in training centers (CFA), was liberalized and simplified following a law of September 2018 brought by Muriel Pénicaud, then Minister of Labor. It has, moreover, been pushed upwards thanks to the bonuses put in place in mid-2020 for the benefit of bosses who recruit apprentices. For a long time considered a siding, this sector has managed to change its image and has, in recent years, attracted more and more young people, the number of contracts signed having increased almost 2.9 times between 2016 and 2022.
“A plateau phase”
The decline observed in 2023 “corresponds to a plateau phase, which is due in particular to the evolution of school demographics, the number of pupils and students tending to decline”confides Pascal Picault, “advocacy officer” to the National Federation of CFA Directors. The less favorable economic situation, with dwindling job creation, is also having an impact. Finally, the reduction in allocations intended to pay for the support of apprentices has a negative impact, according to Antoine Foucher, president of the consulting company Quintet and former director of M’s office.me Pénicaud when she was Minister of Labor: “Through rough diagnoses and poorly targeted reductions in CFA funding, the government has lost the confidence of stakeholders and the dynamic has stalled”he believes.
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