The nursing homes in France have been in tension for many years, and the staff shortage is intensifying with the health crisis.
The professions of old age, often considered difficult, mentally and physically, and poorly paid, struggle to attract job seekers, even on a temporary basis.
At the start of the year, 63% of establishments welcoming the elderly in France indicated that they had a vacant position for six months or more.
Read also: With the health crisis, tensions over employment in nursing homes are worsening
Thus, to compensate for the lack of personnel and better face the second wave of Covid-19, the cities of Toulouse, Narbonne, Montpellier and Villefranche are experimenting with an accelerated training system for the profession of care assistant in gerontology.
“
Between the difficulties of recruiting and the constant need for personnel, the problem is chronic.
It was therefore necessary to address it,
”explains Audrey Perocheau, Director of skills development in the region at the general management of Pôle emploi.
This training course in 430 hours, or three months, prepares the people who follow it to assist caregivers, respond to emergency problems, and understand the psychology of an elderly person in a situation of dependency.
A first stage of training
To become a caregiver, training of 1,400 hours, or around eight to nine months, is normally required.
“
But professionals cannot wait all this time to quickly strengthen their teams,
” says Audrey Perocheau.
The current workforce in the Ehpads is under strain and severely affected by the first health wave of spring.
Poor morale among staff is now reflected in work stoppages, sick leave, and even resignations.
In addition, long-term training often discourages the unemployed.
"This new three-month training course to become a gerontology coach is a first step before the full training of a caregiver if it is desired by the job seeker,"
explains the Director of skills development at Pôle emploi.
These gerontological assistants can only practice in retirement homes, unlike nursing assistants.
Coaching training in gerontology may be offered as part of the government's “youth plan”.
The initiative was born from a partnership between Synerpa, the main union for private establishments, Pôle Emploi and the Red Cross.
Before entering a retirement home, a ten-day immersion is mandatory so that the trained person can observe the teams already in place, and so that the latter can assess their motivations and skills.
To ensure that the people trained will be well qualified, follow-up is organized by Synerpa and Pôle emploi once the new staff are in the field.
Promise of employment in a sector in tension
In recent months, Pôle emploi has been trying to encourage job seekers, in particular young people with little qualifications, to take this free training, with a promise of employment.
The contracts offered are CDD, of 12 months minimum, and CDI.
The public establishment finances training and assistance to employers before recruitment.
“Often we have already found the employer in need of manpower. To facilitate hiring, an online service (La Bonne Compétence Pro) allows him to come into direct contact with job seekers who are
undergoing
training, ”
explains Audrey Perocheau.
Upon completion of the training, the employment rate is over 80%.
70 job seekers have already been trained in 2019 and around 100 since the start of the year.
A request has been filed with the institution France competences so that the diploma is officially recognized by the State.
In these times of health crisis, the executive is relying on professional retraining towards sectors in tension.
If the accelerated training system proves successful in the coming months, the coaching training in gerontology will be offered as part of the government's “
youth plan
”.
And such devices could be transferable to other areas of health.
Since early 2020, nursing assistant training has been the fourth most publicly funded at the national level.
13,000 job seekers have already been trained as a caregiver, an increase of 9.5 percent compared to last year.
“With the new three-month training in gerontology support, we hope for greater reinforcement,” concludes Audrey Perocheau.
In order to alleviate the situation and improve support for residents, the French Hospital Federation recommends the recruitment of 20,000 people from 2021.
