“
2021 has been a good year, but 2022 is off to a very bad start
”.
Alice Jurczynski and her husband run the “
Au croissant d'or
” bakery in Villedieu-les-Poêles, in Manche.
After a bad combination of circumstances, they found themselves without any pastry chef.
Their two former employees left their jobs: one found a job closer to home, the other took maternity leave.
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Since then, it has been impossible for the couple to find staff.
“ We've
been looking for three months
,” laments Alice, “
we had three candidates last week, but only one person came forward
”.
The owners of the “
Golden Crescent
” are not the only ones in this case.
In their town alone, two other bakeries are desperate to recruit pastry chefs.
21,000 vacancies
Throughout France, no less than 21,000 positions are to be filled, according to Dominique Anract, the president of the National Confederation of French Bakery-Pastry (CNBPF).
“We are looking for 10,000 pastry chefs, 8,000 bakers and 3,000 salespeople,”
he explains. Before the health crisis, "only" 10,000 positions were to be filled. The figure has more than doubled.
The president of the CNBFP evokes several causes for this current lack of manpower.
The covid, first of all, which created "
a divide in all trades
".
Many took the opportunity to retrain.
"
There is also the idea, which has long been conveyed, that manual trades were devaluing
" explains Dominique Anract.
In addition, if there are about 1,000 companies that disappear every year, more than 1,200 are created.
As a result, the need for manpower is increasing over the years.
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Added to these complications are the rise in production costs for bakers.
The latter have to cope with a generalized increase of 10% to 20% in packaging and soaring energy prices.
Not to mention the tensions on the price of processed agricultural raw materials such as flour or dairy products.
The decline in milk production has increased the price of butter, which can represent up to 70% of the cost of raw materials for the preparation of a pancake.
Some bakers therefore had to pass on this increase in their production costs to the prices of their products.
An attractive sector
But if this increase in production costs accompanied by recruitment difficulties confronts the bakery sector with an unprecedented situation, it remains nonetheless attractive.
"
Many in their thirties or forties are retraining in these professions
" confides Dominique Anract, "
often former engineers or people graduating from HEC in search of a job which has more meaning for them
".
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In 2020 and 2021, bakery attendance increased. Thanks to their so-called "
essential
" character, they were able to remain open during the successive confinements. Alice Jurczynski has seen her turnover grow by 8% since 2019. "
It has worked very well in recent years
" testifies the baker who is considering retirement soon.
Regarding the training of young people, many want to take the stove.
About 24,000 each year, according to Dominique Anract.
"
Those who leave a school are assured of having learned a trade which will undoubtedly allow them to have a job in CDI, a career
" he affirms.
“The
working conditions are not as harsh as they used to be.
You have to agree to get up early, but it is now possible to have your weekends or two days off in the week, without any problem
, ”he says.
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Each year, the salary scales are revalued.
Even beginners who enter the profession receive higher wages than the minimum wage.
“
If we work well, we can quickly earn money, equal to the salaries of executives.
There are more and more of them,
”says Dominique Anract.
“
It's a job that offers future prospects, there is really a way to be successful,
” he concludes.