Some 811,500 apprenticeship contracts were signed in the private sector in 2022, an increase of 14% compared to 2021, according to Labor Ministry results released late Thursday. If we add those of the public sector, we arrive at a total of 837,000 signed contracts. Although the increase is less spectacular than in the last two years (+46% in 2020 and +38% in 2021), it remains in line with the executive’s goal of reaching one million contracts signed per year by 2027.
These figures will be presented on Friday by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne during a National Refoundation Council (CNR) dedicated to the professional integration of young people. As in previous years, this increase continues to be driven by higher education, which accounts for 63% of apprenticeships. But “there is an increase in the number of contracts for all levels of diplomas”, underlines the Ministry of Labor.
Accessible to young people from 16 to 29 years old, the apprenticeship is based on the principle of alternation between theoretical education and professional training with the employer with whom the apprentice has signed his contract. Two thirds of the contracts are signed with companies with less than 50 employees. Services (with 73% of the contracts signed) take the lion’s share, ahead of industry (14%) and construction (11%). Two out of three young people are employed six months after completing their apprenticeship. This figure rises to 73% in the energy/chemical/metallurgical sector, ahead of transport/handling/storage (72%) and mechanics/metal structures (71%).
6000 euro bonus
The increase in contracts is explained in particular by the 2018 reform, which liberalized apprenticeship both in terms of entry conditions and training offer. The momentum was also boosted by the exceptional aid decided during the crisis. This bonus -5,000 euros for a minor, 8,000 for an adult- has meant that the cost of the first year is almost zero for the employer. And higher education is eligible, which was not the case with the existing aid before the Covid crisis.
This bonus was replaced on January 1 by a single aid of 6,000 euros paid to all companies for all contracts entered into with a work-study student, minor or major, during the first year of the contract. It will remain until the end of the five-year period.
Source: BFM TV
