The government presents a strategy for youth employment

Dubbed "Future Employment", this interministerial strategy of 15 short and medium term measures aims to raise the employment rate of 15-24 year olds to 40% by 2030, according to the Minister of Labour Jean-Pierre Farandou, compared to 34,3% at the end of 2025.

The latest unemployment figures showed a sharp rise in youth unemployment, which reached 21,5% at the end of 2025. The proportion of NEETs, young people who are neither in school, nor in employment nor in training and who sometimes escape all support schemes, at 12,9% according to INSEE, constitutes another source of concern.

The government also notes that young French people take longer than other Europeans to access the job market.

"If we were ever to experience an economic downturn due to the international situation, it is certainly the youth job market that would suffer first," warned Mr. Farandou on Thursday after a visit to the University of Paris-Est Créteil.

The 15 measures presented require neither legislative changes nor additional budget, assure the ministries concerned (Labor, Youth and Sport, Higher Education, National Education).

They are divided into three areas: better guidance for young people and awareness of jobs that are recruiting (defense, nuclear, medical-social, etc.), bringing them closer to the company while strengthening workplace safety and, finally, anticipating career breaks and providing intensive support to those who need it.

These announcements come less than a month after the death of a high school student in the Gard region during an observation internship in a construction company, which sparked strong emotions and a debate about these internships.

Among the measures planned is the creation for all initial vocational training of an "InserScore" - an indicator of job prospects (percentage of young people in employment after training, median salary) - in order to help young people make "informed choices".

An application called "1jeuneDessolutions" must be created in order to bring together all the state services that young people need.

Broader and more vague, the launch of "forward planning of jobs and skills in strategic sectors" to adapt training offerings to needs, notably by improving dialogue between administrations and with universities.

Access to "short and professionalizing" training courses for students or apprentices who have interrupted their studies or contract should be encouraged, for example through the Operational Preparations for Employment of France Travail.

The plan also includes "rewarding companies that commit to promoting quality student jobs".

"At a discount"

For NEETs, he intends to promote internships and professional placements during support provided by local missions.

Mentoring and sponsorship towards employment must also be strengthened for the most vulnerable groups, such as young people leaving the Child Welfare system.

While this plan can be implemented without additional budget in the immediate future, Jean-Pierre Farandou assures that he wants to make youth the priority of his ministry for the 2027 budget.

His announcements come against a backdrop of budget cuts for local missions (-7,6% in the 2026 budget) and reductions in apprenticeship support.

It has sparked skepticism from the general secretary of the UNEF, Manon Moret, who denounces "a cut-rate, pro-business plan that allows for a nice PR stunt and not a deep questioning of the condition of youth".

Jean-Pierre Farandou visited the University of Créteil on Thursday morning with his counterparts from Higher Education and Youth to discuss "improving supervision and developing student jobs" and is going to Angers in the afternoon to discuss career breaks.

In Créteil, virtuous examples of student jobs offered by the university, with flexible hours compatible with studies, were presented.

But students point out, like Adil Tagri, student life assessor, that some, particularly because they come from the middle class and are not scholarship recipients, are forced to work long weekly hours and sometimes repeat a year to reconcile studies and work.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.