Craftsmen concerned about planned cuts to apprenticeship grants

"With less help, it's going to be very complicated. (...) If I had to pay the work-study students almost full price, clearly, I wouldn't take any more," warns Amélie Corvaisier, who came to present her artisanal jams at the Made in France fair, which opened its doors on Friday in Paris.

In her Ferme de la Métairie, in Le Mans (Sarthe), she is employing two apprentices this year, out of nine employees.

She pays their salaries, part of their training costs, and receives a 500 euro per month subsidy during the first year of the contract.

This is the amount that the government wants to lower in its draft budget for 2025, currently being examined by the National Assembly.

To "rationalize public support," the subsidy could drop from 6.000 euros per year per apprentice to 4.500 euros.

"It's already an investment of time, but if it also becomes a financial investment, I would prefer to take on an employee," says Amélie Corvaisier.

In some niche areas, where job opportunities are sometimes rare, there is concern "that with a real drop in aid, many will have difficulty finding an apprenticeship master", deplores Quentin de Leeuw, a high-end guitar and bass luthier in Pont-Sainte-Maxence (Oise).

The latter has already stopped recruiting work-study students, finding it difficult to make ends meet during the second year of the contract, when the aid stops.

An insertion factor

For the president of the national network of Chambers of Trades and Crafts, Joël Fourny, "the risk is to have young people who will not find employment and who will have to be dealt with on the social side, which will also cost money instead of saving it by reducing aid."

70% of apprenticeship contracts are signed in SMEs, stated the president of the Confederation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (CPME) François Asselin in mid-October. "This is a very great success that has contributed to the reduction in unemployment in recent years," he said, deploring the proposed reduction in aid.

"Apprenticeships in the craft industry are extremely important for integration," adds Florent Francolon, an artisan chocolatier in Montluçon (Allier), who hires three out of his nine employees.

"Recruitment is complicated, so having interns that we can train and work with for years simplifies it enormously," explains the manager of Au bon chocolat.

The number of work-study students exploded from 2018, after a reform which notably liberalized the opening of training centers and extended the system to 26-29 year-olds, as well as increasing hiring bonuses.

The government now plans to stabilize the number of apprentices, which rose from 317.000 in 2017 to 853.000 in 2023. Emmanuel Macron had set himself the goal of one million apprentices per year.

Increase in contributions

In addition to reducing hiring bonuses, the government wants to see a reduction in exemptions on employee contributions from which apprenticeship contracts benefit.

They would only apply up to half the minimum wage, and not up to 0,79 of the minimum wage as today, which will increase the cost for employers of the highest paid apprentices.

A recent report from the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) calculated that the cost of apprenticeship aid had increased 3,4 times between 2018 and 2022.

"Of the 14 billion currently in public support for apprenticeships, four billion are intended to support employers," recalled Minister of Labor Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet in mid-October.

So many sources of savings in the government's sights, which hopes to reduce the public deficit to 5% of GDP next year.

"Business leaders are very responsible, they know that there are difficult times and that they need to be overcome," said the Minister Delegate for Crafts, Françoise Gatel, on Friday, when questioned by journalists at the Made in France trade fair.

Integration companies are calling for training efforts to be maintained

The Federation of Integration Companies said on Tuesday that it was concerned about a drop in budgets allocated to training for employees who are in integration and is requesting in particular the maintenance of the exemption from employer contributions on low incomes.

The purpose of integration companies (EI) is to provide access to employment and offer socio-professional support to people who are far removed from it, such as long-term job seekers, minimum welfare recipients, young people without qualifications, etc.

In a context of budgetary restrictions, and a few hours before the examination of the budget of the Work and Employment mission in the Assembly, they are thus concerned about a reduction in their resources.

"One of our concerns concerns the reduction in training funds," Luc de Gardelle, president of the Federation of Integration Enterprises, told AFP, denouncing "a fundamental error."

"Training provides employees with the tools to integrate into companies, be more flexible and adapt," notes the manager.

The integration companies thus fear "a new drop of 10 to 15 million euros compared to 2024" in the budget. "While the previous one already only allowed employees to be trained for seven hours per year and per person, the new budget would reduce this figure to 5 hours 45 minutes!", they write in a press release, recalling that "80% of the public in integration has a level below the baccalaureate".

In two years, integration companies have created "30.000 jobs, increasing from 70.000 to 100.000", notes Mr. de Gardelle. In 2024, more than 100.000 people, far from the labor market and in precarious situations, will have benefited from this support.

"In total, 67% of the people our companies support find a job at the end of their training, which lasts on average 11,4 months," says Mr. de Gardelle, so "how can we imagine reducing the training effort?"

Furthermore, given the financial fragility of these companies, "35% of which had a negative net result last year", the Federation is asking the State to exempt them from an increase in employer contributions on low incomes.

The reductions in employer contributions are currently highest at the minimum wage level, creating a "low-wage trap" which is slowing their progression, a flaw which the government says it is ready to tackle.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.