Interview with Patrick Chemin, Secretary General of the Compagnons du Devoir: apprenticeship, between necessary consolidation and structuring choices for the future

Batinfo: How do you analyze the current situation of apprenticeships in France?

Patrick Chemin: We are emerging from a period of exceptional expansion in apprenticeships, driven by strong political will and powerful incentive programs. This momentum has profoundly changed the perception of vocational training and broadened access to qualification pathways.

Today, we are entering a different phase. The government is making budgetary decisions that reflect a desire to regulate, even rationalize, the system. This translates into changes in the levels of support provided, increased attention to the quality of training, and a stronger demand for efficiency.

This is not a disengagement, but a change of cycle.

Batinfo: What are the main issues behind these developments?

Patrick Chemin: There are many of them.

First, there is a financial challenge: the apprenticeship funding model must find a sustainable balance. The rapid growth of recent years has inevitably generated budgetary pressures.

Next, there is the issue of quality and relevance: it is now a matter of ensuring that the training courses offered truly meet the needs of the professions and the territories.

Finally, a strategic challenge for stakeholders: we are moving from an expansion model to a consolidation model. This implies making choices, prioritizing, and strengthening the added value of our systems.

Batinfo: How does this context directly impact your association?

Patrick Chemin: Our association is directly concerned, as we have a long history of commitment to a demanding approach to learning, based on trades, transmission and professional excellence.

Current developments require us to re-examine certain balances:

• economic balance of our training programs,
• investment capacity,
• organization of our reception and support systems.

But they also reinforce an essential point: the need to offer a robust, readable and differentiating model.

Batinfo: Is this a period of vulnerability or opportunity?

Patrick Chemin: It's clearly a period of both.

Yes, there are tensions. Yes, some decisions can weaken economic models, especially for structures most committed to quality and support.

But it is also an opportunity for clarification.

Those actors who can demonstrate their social utility, their real impact on professional integration, and their ability to meet the needs of businesses will emerge stronger.

For us, this means fully embracing our positioning: training competent professionals, supporting demanding career paths, and contributing to the transmission of skills.

Batinfo: What directions do you consider essential for the future?

Patrick Chemin: Three major trends emerge.

The first is to reaffirm the meaning of learning: it is not just a quantitative device, but a lever for sustainable qualification.

The second is to secure the paths of young people, by strengthening support and avoiding purely opportunistic approaches.

The third is to build a demanding dialogue with public authorities, to have the specificity of models that invest in quality and in the long term recognized.

Batinfo: What message would you like to send to partners and teams?

Patrick Chemin: We are going through a period that calls for clear thinking and collective responsibility.

Now more than ever, we must remain true to what makes us strong:

• the requirement in training,
• commitment to young people,
• and the ability to adapt without giving up our identity.

Apprenticeships remain an opportunity for our country. It is up to us to ensure that they remain a lever for excellence and the future, and not simply a variable for adjustment.

Batinfo: Can you explain your role in the Construction Tech Village sponsored by CCCA-BTP and supported by ACTION 21 for the Energy Renovation area?

Patrick Chemin: The Compagnons du Devoir, invited by the CCCA-BTP, play a key role within the Construction Tech Village as major players in training for construction trades, including the construction project of the century with energy renovation.

They help to anticipate environmental, technological and societal changes, while adapting career paths to enhance the attractiveness of jobs and professional integration.

At the heart of Digital Twin I BIM World, the village promotes synergies between startups, companies and training organizations in order to experiment with and disseminate innovation.

The Compagnons du Devoir act as facilitators, accompanying educational transformations and supporting field experiments.

A space dedicated to energy renovation, sponsored by Action 21, highlights the FIRE (Initial Training Energy Renovation) movement.

This initiative aims to integrate RGE certification from the apprenticeship stage, a key issue for scaling up high-performance renovation.

Finally, conferences, workshops and demonstrations will contribute to collective reflection to build the skills of tomorrow.

Interview with Patrick Chemin, Secretary General of the Compagnons du Devoir (LinkedIn).