Colony is urgently looking for animator. Summer holidays are fast approaching but they could turn sour for some parents. Without arms, many centres and summer camps may well remain closed. Since the health crisis, the animation sector has experienced a severe staff shortage. "Currently, nearly 30,000 positions out of 350,000 would be vacant nationally. So the risk of seeing stays cancelled, or greatly reduced, is very real," says David Cluzeau, general delegate of Hexopée, the main employer union in the sector. "Our members tell us about their difficulties in recruiting animators, but also cooks, service agents ... And this for permanent positions or not! But without all this small world, it is impossible to welcome children in good conditions, "he warns.
Almost one in ten positions would therefore not be filled. A level equivalent to that reached post-covid. In 2021, the survey conducted by Hexopée and the Youth and Popular Education Cooperation Fund (Fonjep) showed that four out of five structures were experiencing recruitment difficulties. And even though this proportion had decreased slightly in 2022 (76%), six out of ten employers said the difficulties had increased. "We are witnessing a perpetuation of these problems," comments David Cluzeau. The fault is "a tougher competition from the "best employer" between owners of campsites, holiday villages, colonies, leisure centers ..." and a degradation of the image of the profession of animator, "considered too trying, time-consuming and poorly paid". To the point that "some leisure centers even talk about remaining closed throughout the month of August, for lack of voluntary seasonal workers," regrets the spokesperson of Hexopée.
Adapt stays
Faced with the lack of arms, which seems to be becoming a constant, the organizers have no choice but to adapt. "Everything is being done to avoid a closure, even temporary," explains Anne Carayon, executive director of the Jeunesse au Plein Air network, which campaigns for access for everyone to summer camps and leisure centres. "Since the pandemic, the offers offered have changed somewhat," she continues. "For example, leisure centres stop making three-day mini-stays. The same goes for summer camps, which abandon itinerant stays for fixed places, which require far fewer supervisors."
Even if the situation remains "tense", these small arrangements make it "acceptable and less serious than at the end of covid", reassures Anne Carayon. At least on the side of occasional animators, that is to say those for whom animation is not a career. "For example, registrations for the Bafa, the certificate of aptitude for the functions of animator, have returned to their pre-health crisis level. These new trainees will ensure the renewal of positions in the coming years, "she says. The shortage of lay staff is therefore expected to be eliminated soon. For the time being, "recruitment difficulties in this branch of animation remain confined to specific and specialized positions, such as colony director or bathing supervisor".
Revalorizing the profession of animator
One problem remains. That of attracting more professional animators. Despite the revaluation of wages, of about 10% according to Hexopée, the sector still suffers from its degraded image. "In times of inflation, animation attracts less and less, because people are looking for better-paid and more stable jobs," says David Cluzeau. This is why Hexopée campaigns for preparation time to be considered as effective working time. "This would lead to an increase in salaries of the order of 15%," says the spokesman for Hexopée, implying an increase in the cost of stays. "If this increase is put on the backs of families, there is a big risk of seeing a drop in applications. Instead, a solution should be found on the side of the National Family Allowances Fund, which already partly finances stays.
See alsoPrivate holiday camps for animators
So to put an end to the slow decay of summer camps, "it is urgent to restore the image of the animator", slaps Anne Carayon. "There is a huge lack of recognition of this profession. The facilitator does not do daycare, he has a very strong educational role. Since most vocations are inspired by a youth experience, "fewer children today means fewer animators tomorrow," she regrets. However, according to the Directorate of Youth, Popular Education and Associative Life (DJEPVA), in 2016, summer camps welcomed only 800,000 children, compared to more than a million in 2007, two million in the early 1980s and 4 million in the 1960s.1
