Universities and schools are bombarded with requests from students wishing to do work-study programs.
“This trend is quite enormous,” recognizes Agnès Boissière, head of the career service at Audencia Business School in Nantes (Loire-Atlantique).
If it had around a hundred apprenticeship places a few years ago, the school has 1000 today.
And she is not the only one to have increased the scope: for several years, and even more since the health crisis, work-study has changed the landscape of higher education.
If the hiring aid granted to companies recruiting apprentices is one reason for the acceleration, it is not the only one.
“This system of study resonates with the expectations of this generation in search of concreteness, experimentation and autonomy,” believes Agnès Boissière.
Great advantages to which should be added the cost, because studying in an apprenticeship is free.
You will not pay any tuition fees and will also receive a salary ranging from 477.07 to 1766 euros gross, depending on your age and level of studies.
Enough to facilitate access to long courses, whatever your background.
The advantage is even more appreciable in times of inflation and marked precariousness among young people.
“
This requires having a sense of responsibility”
Beyond the budget, keep in mind that learning is an educational model.
Therefore, it will suit certain personalities more.
“Everyone has their own way of learning.
Some flourish fully in initial training, while others find their motivation in concrete and real life.
For the latter, applying what we learn allows us to remember better, perform better and, ultimately, be happier,” explains Agnès Boissière.
In a word, there is no question of choosing alternation because it is fashionable!
The question is whether this system is right for you.
Also read: Work-study: what is the right age to start?
“Apprenticeship is synonymous with a strong commitment to one's studies and one's business.
This requires having a sense of responsibility,” recalls Simona Racu, head of the HR department at CESI, an engineering school present in 25 cities in France.
Finding your place in a team of professionals of varying ages requires interpersonal skills and a certain maturity.
“We help students to know themselves better, identify their strengths, and decipher what went more or less well in their previous experiences,” explains Simona Racu.
If, at CESI, work-study is possible from the first year, it is not obligatory.
Some will benefit from starting with initial training, then switching to apprenticeship when they feel ready.
“Try to project yourself.
How do you feel about the idea of doing a week of classes, then a week at work?
Happiness ?
Worry?
Is it good or bad stress?
», illustrates Agnès Boissière.
This type of study requires agility.
It's about knowing how to invest fully in your job, without ever forgetting your other priority, classes.
A gymnastics that will put your sense of organization to the test.
Integration: apprentice advantage
Apprenticeship is a more time-consuming model than initial training.
School holidays ?
They will generally be dedicated to your host company, replaced by five weeks of annual leave.
Evenings and weekends?
Yes, they will be free, provided that you are not too late in the work and projects to be delivered, or in the middle of exams.
For those who are involved in student associations and activities, concessions will have to be made.
“You will be less available, that’s for sure.
But let's not exaggerate, you will still have time for your private life!
», tempers Agnès Boissière.
Read also Work-study training: everything you need to know about the pace, registrations, remuneration
If the connection between studies and employment seems to have improved, according to the results revealed by the Work-Study Observatory, this does not prevent two out of three apprentices from judging the pace to be intense, or even, for 10% of them them, too intense.
“This contributes to the positive image that recruiters have.
A successful experience shows that we have been able to meet the challenge.
It is seen as proof of desire and seriousness.
We come out of it grown,” encourages Simona Racu.
In fact, one of the main advantages of apprenticeship is the quality of the professional integration it offers.
Students taking this route have a better employment rate than students in traditional training.
This is particularly true for CAP (certificate of professional aptitude), of which 51% of graduates find a job in less than six months, compared to 20% for their counterparts in initial training, according to the Ministry of National Education.
Certainly, the higher the level of studies, the more the integration gap between the two paths fades.
But it still remains to the advantage of ex-apprentices.
Read your contract carefully
Small point of vigilance.
With the number of contracts having more than doubled in ten years, it is not surprising that certain unscrupulous actors seek to take advantage of the model.
Although rare, certain deviations have been observed.
“First there are these CFAs (Apprentice Training Centers) which require registration fees, generally a few hundred euros,” notes Aurélien Cadiou, president of Anaf (National Association of Apprentices of France) .
However, this is simply illegal.
Another type of practice has emerged.
Some schools ensure, through a contractual maneuver, that if the young person cannot find a host company, they are liable for the cost of the year of training.
As a reminder, a student must, in principle, have signed a contract with a company before starting their course.
However, a delay of three months (from the start of courses) is possible.
At the end of this period, the student without a contract must stop their training.
“Everyone can rejoice in this attractiveness and the change in mentalities”
Aurélien Cadiou, president of Anaf
To avoid the risk that this start of the year will not be paid to them, certain establishments have found a system.
“The school registers everyone under student status, then switches them to apprenticeships when they sign with the company.
» As a result, those who cannot find a contract find themselves having to pay tuition fees which can rise to 8,000 or 10,000 euros.
“It’s completely abusive,” protests Aurélien Cadiou.
The president of Anaf claims to have had such registration contracts in front of him.
“They are totally convoluted, mixing up details on all the financing methods.
Even we don't understand anything about it.
» The only solution to avoid this type of trap is not to sign anything that you have not duly reread and verified.
This type of process is undoubtedly the other side of a beautiful coin, that of learning success.
It is certainly not Anaf, which has worked for many years to promote it, which will call it into question.
“Everyone can rejoice in this attractiveness and the change in mentalities,” agrees Aurélien Cadiou.
Apart from the fight against the few excesses mentioned, there are numerous projects: “Quality of life for apprentices, assistance with the mobility of minors, training of tutors, or even this Erasmus of apprenticeship which we do not yet know how to deploy.
» A copious program.