10.1. Introduction

Apprenticeships have been around for centuries. Mentoring is one of the first forms of learning. More recently, school/company work-linked training¹ has developed. Fernando was educated in Mexico. Registered in the Faculty of Management in 1972 from 6 pm to 10 pm, four days a week, he worked in companies for the five years of his schooling from 8 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. This is the case for a large number of students in Mexico. He has worked in a bank (accounting), in industry (marketing) and in a university (general administration and internal organization). This allowed him to have theoretical–practical exchanges with his teachers. His salary increased by 20–30% each year. When he graduated, he already had executive status. Of course, he has enjoyed economic independence, practical experience and a better understanding of theory. His parents no longer supported him from the age of 19 and they were reassured about his future. The companies where he worked were able to hire a young employee who had recent theoretical knowledge. The professors asked the students for testimonials from their companies.

In this chapter, we will explore the current situation of apprenticeships in France to study the beneficiaries of the scheme. Of course, first of all, we will examine the apprentice and the host company, but we will also look at other stakeholders in the study, such as the training school, parents, and government and social agencies.

What is an apprenticeship? It is one of the work-study schemes², mainly aimed at young people aged 16 to 25, from CAP level to Bac +5, where the contract links the student, the company³ and the training center, over a period ranging from six months to four years (apprenticeship contract of a fixed duration – CDD). The most common duration is two years. There is a contrat d’apprentissage à durée indéterminée (apprenticeship contract of indeterminate duration – CDI), a type of open-ended apprenticeship contract, but it is very rarely used – probably because it is a recent innovation. The aim is to combine theoretical and practical learning, which is the basis of professional competence: knowledge, experience and, above all, their expression. The CFA develops knowledge, know-how and interpersonal skills in the apprentice. The company mainly develops the last two. The proportion of time spent in companies is, in most cases, between 50% and 75%.

10.2. Benefits for the apprentice

For students, apprenticeships are an entry point to the company, for CAPs, from the age of 16 years, and for some from the first year of higher education. It is a gradual transition from 100% student life to 100% professional life. The apprentice avoids the shock of the transition from school to work and, therefore, enjoys a discovery of the professionalizing company. Since this is still a period of study, failure for an apprentice is not inevitable, as it is for a full-time job. An apprentice is an employee in training.

The apprentice signs a real employment contract. He or she is a full-fledged, full-time employee with regular periods in school. He or she is, therefore, both an employee and a student. In the vast majority of cases, this is the first contract. The apprentice discovers what hierarchy means and, therefore, authority. His or her leaders are not always graduates, from the apprentice’s field of training, even if they have good experience in the field. However, this is the reality of companies and various professions.

The techniques learned in school often remain very abstract, even when solving business cases. During the apprenticeship process, the student experiences the use of techniques. Indeed, he or she experiences the difficulty of searching for information, the obstacles posed by a few malicious colleagues (“What will this kid teach us?”), often jealous of the apprentice’s future, the pressure to respect deadlines, quality, labor costs and so on, i.e. the ordinary conditions of work. In addition, there is the experience of the routine of repetitive tasks in companies. Apprentices can take advantage of their long stay in a company to test their personal career plan, its feasibility and their personal skills in order to adjust their career aspirations.

They also develop a great capacity for adaptation, because the school–corporate work experience teaches them to change activities frequently and to have to schedule themselves in accordance with the deadlines for the different periods. The dual status gives them a very special life with a high workload.

Some companies even invest in training seminars for apprentices.

A student at school is responsible for his or her personal work: preparing courses, processing company cases, preparing for written and oral exams, etc. Sometimes he or she works in a team, but at times on an ad hoc basis. In companies, he or she discovers continuous negotiation with colleagues, negotiations that have an impact in the short, medium and even long terms. In this way, he or she discovers what it means to be responsible in relation to others who have an expectation of his or her work, so that they themselves can be effective.

Finding a place in a company and developing an activity inside or outside the company, regardless of the position, develops real sales skills (products, services, as well as techniques to apply) in the apprentice.

Starting at the bottom of an organization makes the apprentice aware of the lives of employees and workers. When he or she is in a managerial position, he or she will have a greater understanding of the situations and will have greater legitimacy than if he or she were to arrive directly at a managerial position.

Finally, as is the case with higher education, at the Baccalaureate +5 level, he or she will have to write a thesis at the end of his or her studies. The experience he or she will have of the functioning of companies will allow him or her to build a research problem (question) and a hypothesis (answer to be verified), which will be relevant and useful in his or her later professional life.

The remuneration of work-linked training depends first and foremost on contracts in regard to the apprenticeship or professionalization and on age and level of education. The apprentice receives a salary that increases each year. It ranges from 25% (for those under 18 years of age) to 80% of the minimum wage for the Bac +5. It depends on age (under 18, between 18 and 21, and over 21) and the number of years of the apprenticeship. Contractual provisions may provide for a more favorable remuneration for the apprentice. The salary is exempt from social security contributions and income tax (within the limit of the minimum wage). Some apprentices benefit from services such as lunch vouchers, company restaurants, holiday vouchers, gift vouchers and public transport card financing (50%). Some companies offer them an incentive, a salary plan or profit-sharing. Some regions grant aid for housing or catering. The SNCF (French national rail company) offers “TER Apprentis” cards which allow apprentices to benefit from 50% reductions on regular journeys, at the apprentice’s choice. The latter can still benefit from the Aide personnalisée au lodgement, APL (personalized housing assistance, subject to a limit on resources and the activity bonus (CAF)). If the apprentice is under 30 years of age, he or she can request assistance from the housing committee CIL (Comité interprofessionnel pour le logement – formerly 1% logement). Mobili-Jeune assistance, in partnership with the French national apprentice association, ANAF (Association nationale des apprentis de France)⁴, provides an allowance of €10 to €100 per month for rent assistance. The disadvantage of being an apprentice is that you often have two units. With the national apprentice card, he or she is entitled to various discounts. In addition, an apprentice can combine the benefits of an employee with the benefits of his or her student card.

The apprentice’s salary allows him or her to buy books and other educational materials.

In absolute terms, the remuneration an apprentice receives is not very high. However, compared to the hours worked, the remuneration per hour can be doubled in the calculations. Apprenticeships are better paid than “odd jobs”, especially if he or she is a trainer in the profession.

During negotiations with the bank, the apprentice is perceived as a high-potential customer. He or she becomes a credit subject.

Another advantage is that the apprentice, having contributed to social security bodies, is entitled to unemployment benefits and his or her years of apprenticeship will be taken into account for retirement (law of 20 January 2014)⁵.

The apprentice, through his or her remuneration, is proud of the autonomy obtained; he or she will be able to cut the “umbilical cord” more easily and is proud to be a player in the country’s economy.

The apprentice is no longer a student; he or she is an employee under a common law employment contract, in the company as well as at school. He or she is treated as an adult, even before graduation. He or she is treated as a collaborator who assumes responsibilities, which is not the case for other students. “The teachers treat us almost like colleagues…” (an apprentice). The apprentice is a professional who studies and a student who works. “I am really part of a team, whereas an intern is only tolerated” (an apprentice). In companies, trainees are sometimes called “small trainees”. However, we rarely talk about “little apprentices”. Recognition is not the same.

An apprentice is supported by the company’s apprenticeship manager, the school tutor and the ANAF, for example, in the search for a company and the development of behavior corresponding to the company’s codes.

Apprentices develop a professional network with other apprentices. This is very useful during training because during the school year, apprentices exchange their professional experiences and information on the way their companies operate. This network of apprentices provides mutual assistance in solving daily problems. “We share tips” (an apprentice). Once the diploma has been obtained, this network remains very useful and adds to the network created with customers or suppliers that the apprentice has frequented. Through apprenticeships, some students have been able to build social capital that some had lacked because of a more limited network due to their social background.

Typical graduates, even from prestigious schools, or workers with significant experience may have problems finding a job. An apprenticeship has proven his or her worth in this area. The success of this system in Germany contributes significantly to its good reputation. An apprentice is highly employable. Indeed, traditional training is perceived by employers as too theoretical. And the only practice in a company is perceived as limited in terms of technique and methodology. An apprentice, having worked and studied over a significant period of time, develops a sense of professionalism (life skills) and acquires a trade (technical) and/or profession (economic sector), thanks to theoretical–practical synergy. Synergy is more appreciated than theory, on the one hand, and practice, on the other. It is the combination of the two that is appreciated. In addition, an apprentice will keep an interest in simultaneously integrating theory and practice throughout his or her professional life. Knowledge and know-how are obviously important. However, what often makes the difference between two candidates is life skills, which is one of the essential skills for the executive position. Through an apprenticeship, he or she will have “important information in his or her CV. Soft skills” (head of a CFA).

Let us examine Arnaud’s question: is it possible to have statistics on the integration of apprentices compared to the typical graduates? When recruiting a company, the apprentice, considered as an employee, is given priority during the selection process. It also happens that companies, of course, offer a permanent contract to the apprentice, as well as a fixed-term contract with a technician or executive salary, depending on the level or sometimes a VIE (volunteering for international experience) initiative abroad. They already know the company culture and are familiar with professional software.

A graduate, a former apprentice, aspires to a better salary than a traditional graduate and has faster career development in the early years.

10.3. Benefits for the company

“It is easier to justify the recruitment of an apprentice than an interim employee and obviously than a traditional hire” (an HR manager). By integrating an apprentice, the company entrusts him or her with an assignment, either a program (controlled process) or a project (process to be developed), knowing that apprentices appreciate assignments with a certain variety and development. Sometimes the company recruits an apprentice to take on a task that its employees do not want to take on, because of a “lack of availability” or because it is too expensive to subcontract. “Often, apprentices come to reinforce our services” (an HR manager). Some companies integrate apprenticeships into their CSR (corporate social responsibility) policies.

Some companies or trades also experience high turnover: “With an apprentice, we have the guarantee that he will stay two or three years” (an HR manager).

According to the law, any company with more than 250 employees must hire apprentices, at a minimum of 6% of the workforce, without them being included in the workforce count for the social thresholds. Those who have less than 6% must pay an additional contribution to the apprenticeship tax.

A company wishing to recruit an apprentice is supported by the training center, the consular chambers and the State services for the recruitment process, the conclusion of the contract and the day-to-day management. The company is not required to advertise in the media or use recruitment agencies to hire an apprentice. It receives CVs from the school and convenes the selected candidates. The training school can, by listening to the needs of the company, propose candidates to suit its project. However, as one HR manager told us: “We often have problems getting good candidates for apprenticeship positions. For us, it is a concern as we manage the choice of an apprentice as a real pre-recruitment.”

“We are looking to create a pool of skills. We will strive to keep the apprentice, either on site or at other sites in the group” (an HR manager). There is also the possibility of helping them find a job, for example, through a platform created by a large temporary employment company, which constitutes a “job exchange” and, for user companies, a breeding ground for young talents.

The apprentice’s activity depends on the company’s needs. An apprentice, when he or she is in class, is very attentive to the techniques that can contribute to the development of his or her activity, his or her function or even the company. He or she listens to the theory to adapt it to the specific practice of the company. For the final thesis, the company can co-develop with the apprentice the research subject and the corresponding hypotheses. Apprenticeships become an aid to the development of the company’s projects.

An apprentice can bring a fresh approach and contribute to improving the social climate through his or her youth and enthusiasm. For other employees, it represents a “window to the outside world”. The apprenticeship manager, as well as the other employees of the company, learns a lot by passing on their knowledge, while having fun. They then feel valued in their role as trainers.

Apprentices who have worked for a company become “good ambassadors” for it.

Apprenticeships are an opportunity for the company to reflect on its working methods. The apprentice, with a certain naivety, asks questions that force his or her apprenticeship manager and other members of the organization to find explanations and consequently to better understand the ins and outs of their actions. The tutor–teacher follow-up ensures that the three (the apprentice, the apprenticeship manager and himself) ask themselves the right questions and find more relevant and coherent answers. For the company, the tutor is a “free consultant”.

Apprentices bring new management techniques, legislative news and, above all, knowledge of the digital field where they are often more skilled than the company’s executives.

Any recruitment is a risk for the company. “Poor recruitment represents a staggering cost” (an HR manager). “Apprenticeships minimize the risk of recruitment; an apprentice is supervised, monitored and trained. It is clear to him or her and to us, it minimizes the human and financial risk. We can validate his or her commitment, his or her commercial appetite. We observe his or her know-how, the most important part of recruitment is know-how” (an HR manager). And we can add that this last dimension is the most difficult to evaluate. With apprenticeships, the company largely minimizes recruitment errors through the possibility of observing behavior during the apprenticeship contract.

Apprenticeships can be used to pre-recruit an employee, with the possibility of training them in their products, procedures and culture. Once the apprenticeship period is over, the company can safely recruit a known and operational person immediately. This period, of about two years, serves as a long trial period. Experience shows us the great interest of companies in recruiting apprentices at the end of their training. They have been trained in their professions, operational methods and markets. Because the company has trusted and trained them, apprentices often feel indebted, grateful and loyal to their training company. “It is the recognition of where you’ve come from” (a person in charge of a training center). Sometimes, recruitment does not take place at the end of the apprenticeship, at the initiative of one or the other, which proves that it is characterized by great freedom. “Even if the relationship with the apprentice ends at the end of the contract, everyone wins” (an HR manager). For an employer, an apprenticeship can be a tool of the GPEC (Gestion prévisionnelle des emplois et des compétences – advance planning for careers and skills) system. Depending on the age pyramid, companies must organize succession. Apprentices make it possible to replace retiring employees with a “capillary” effect: the departure of senior positions, which must be replaced by direct employees, ends up increasing the number of employees at lower levels.

Unfortunately, there are 28% of premature breaches of apprenticeship contracts (according to ANAF). To avoid these problems, the law now requires CFAs to hold meetings to explain the rights and duties of the apprentice, the CFA and the company.

Sometimes there is a vision shift. A manager of a training center tells us: “The company, by recruiting an apprentice, is essentially looking for talent (skills perceived more globally) and apprentices focus mainly on know-how.”

Apprentices are paid less than skilled employees. “They potentially have the level of an executive, from whom results can be requested” (an HR manager). This is rarely the case for an intern. Of course, they are absent from work for 25 to 50% of the year, but the company receives various forms of aid: a bonus given by the region of at least €1,000 per year of training; for companies with fewer than 10 employees, a hiring bonus of €1,000, which can be combined with the first; the “generation contract”, which grants a bonus of €4,000 for three years provided that the apprentice is hired by the company, with fewer than 300 employees and at least one employee over 57 years old. For companies with less than 10 employees, apprentices’ salaries are exempt from employer and employee contributions and social security payments (CSG and CRDS). Companies with more than 10 employees are exempt from employer and employee contributions alone. For companies with less than 11 employees, the wages of apprentices are totally exempt from the apprenticeship tax.

Apprenticeships were originally a system reserved exclusively for companies, but it is now developing in the public sector, particularly in the health and social sector.

10.4. Benefits for the CFA

An apprenticeship has a great impact on teaching. Training, by addressing “business practitioners”, is facilitated because the expression of the relationship between theory and practice is not the sole responsibility of the teacher. Indeed, the apprentices, by listening to the teacher, make the connection themselves. Training is becoming more professional. In addition to the theoretical contributions of the teacher, there is an exchange of experiences between teacher and student. Theory enriches practice and vice versa. Training courses are more easily adapted to the needs of companies and market realities.

Students often have difficulty understanding theories and especially their complexity when using them. Through their practical experience, they contextualize the techniques and methods learned. One apprentice even went so far as to tell us that “we are moving from vertical to horizontal pedagogy”.

The training center transmits knowledge, know-how and interpersonal skills of an essentially universal nature. The company, for its part, transmits know-how and interpersonal skills that are essentially of a special nature. These two apprenticeships are very complementary.

Apprentices, perceiving directly the usefulness of knowledge and feeling the need for skills development, are more motivated when they come to school. Since they remain employed during school periods, absenteeism is almost non-existent, whereas it is very common in conventional training.

Teachers also benefit from the apprenticeship system. For them, it is an opportunity to meet the companies and to feed their business case.

The school is seeing its placement rate for all students increase, both for apprentices and traditional students, as well as the average hiring salary. Its attractiveness in relation to school candidates has increased.

Thanks to apprenticeships, the partnership with companies is diversifying with, among other things, the recruitment of graduates – both traditional ones and apprentices – the recruitment of people working in these companies; the sale of continuous training; the payment of apprenticeship tax beyond that corresponding to apprentices; the naming of classrooms with the names of companies; the participation of executives on the board of directors of the school and its foundation, the demand for market research for the junior company and access to student networks for hiring the company and for visiting companies.

10.5. Other beneficiaries

First of all, parents who no longer have to support their children or who significantly reduce the support provided to them are beneficiaries. The apprentice’s salary is exempt from tax up to the annual minimum wage, including in the case of a connection to the parents’ tax household. In the case of paid training, the company pays the tuition fees. Parents feel a certain pride in seeing their children in a position in a company and feel calmer about their future. “They see us happy” (an apprentice). A slight disadvantage is that apprentices have fewer vacation days. Parents also know that their child will be educated by the company, especially in terms of life skills. When higher education created CFAs, parents were a little cautious, because for them an apprenticeship was for manual trades and CAP level. Now, apprenticeships are recognized in society and even the top schools offer such work-linked training. Apprenticeships open up access to the large business schools, which are not free of charge, to students from families with a modest socioeconomic background. It represents social justice.

Municipalities appreciate that apprentices, who have more purchasing power than other students, can contribute to the economic dynamics of cities.

For the government and local authorities, an apprenticeship is one of the best mechanisms for the integration of young people and for its corollary, the fight against delinquency and incivility. This reduces the social assistance budget.

The actions of regional councils are now better known thanks to apprenticeships. Employees of regional councils feel that they are doing very socially useful work, that public funding is well used and that they therefore find meaning in their work. Communities of municipalities have gone so far as to create their own CFAs.

An apprenticeship is a very effective tool against youth unemployment. As a result, Pôle Emploi has fewer of them to take care of and less economic support to provide. Apprenticeships are the cheapest way to promote employment and give the government has fewer scholarships to pay.

Apprenticeships, highly appreciated by all stakeholders, are unanimously accepted by political leaders.

10.6. Conclusion

In our survey, we asked everyone the following question: “Who is the beneficiary of the apprenticeship?” They answered: “Us!” Everyone is satisfied with the system.

Every society wishes to develop socially and economically. The apprenticeship system makes a significant contribution to this, and all stakeholders have an interest. Their interests are converging. The apprentice combines experience and knowledge, becoming a competent collaborator who will contribute effectively to the success of the company, relieve parents of an economic burden and be a better citizen.

Chapter written by Fernando CUEVAS, Catherine COLL and Arnaud GIMENEZ.