Employers warn against "cutting" of apprenticeship aid

"We must be very careful about cutting apprenticeship aid," said Medef boss Patrick Martin on Thursday, September 12, while cuts were mentioned as part of efforts to reduce the public deficit.

"We are fully aware of the very strong budgetary constraints, but it would be a bit paradoxical" after the success of apprenticeships "at all levels of qualification", he declared to the press on the sidelines of Worldskills, a sort of trades Olympics near Lyon.

"We must be very careful to ensure that the necessary budgetary savings considerations do not disrupt this dynamic," warned Mr. Martin.

At the end of August, a ceiling letter from the resigning Prime Minister Gabriel Attal to the Ministry of Labor provided for "new savings on apprenticeships", while maintaining the objective of having one million apprentices per year.

Since 2017, the year Emmanuel Macron was elected, their number has increased from 317.000 to 853.000.

The head of the CMA France (Chamber of Trades and Crafts) Joël Fourny also questioned the State's commitment to the AFP on Wednesday. "From a budgetary point of view, I am waiting for announcements on how companies that hire apprentices will be supported," he said.

The international WorldSkills competition, opened on Tuesday by Emmanuel Macron, attracted a crowd of visitors on Thursday, including many middle and high school students who came to discover the professions competing in several fields (construction, industry, personal services, creative arts, etc.).

Until Sunday, 1.400 young people under 23 will compete in around sixty professions during this event designed to promote sectors that are sometimes little-known.

"I have immense respect for these young people who started at 16, who are capable of putting together a complete electrical panel in one day," commented Nicolas Dufourcq, head of the public investment bank Bpifrance, who came to present another initiative designed to introduce young people to professions that are struggling to recruit.

The "Tour de France of our industries", organized with the joint organization Opco 2i, will take middle school students by bus to industrial sites. Eleven dates are planned between now and December, from Grenoble to Saclay.

Around 60.000 jobs are vacant in the industry and "nearly a million positions will need to be filled within 10 years", according to Bpifrance.