“The professional path should not be a default path, but a path of choice”, declared Emmanuel Macron last week before the rectors. And the new five-year term will be the occasion for a “deep transformation” of the vocational school, indicated the Head of State.
To justify this reform, he relies on figures. “Pro high schools account for two-thirds of dropouts”, indicated the president, before mentioning other worrying data concerning the conditions of integration of students: “41% of holders of a CAP have a job two years after the graduation, 53% for professional baccalaureates. The objective will be to “re-attach very deeply and upstream the vocational high school with the world of work”, specified the Head of State. To underline this ambition, from this start of the school year, the vocational high schools are placed under the dual supervision of the Ministry of Education and that of Labour.
Review the training map, a necessity for the government
First project: revise the training map so that they are more in tune with the job market. A mission that will be entrusted to the rectors in conjunction with the regions. “We will have to assume together to close those that do not work and develop those that work. And create new ones on the professions that recruit, ”insisted Emmanuel Macron. A prospect that Sigrid Gerardin, secretary general of Snuep-FSU, the vocational education union fears: “The government will calibrate the professional sectors towards trades that are struggling to recruit and that people are deserting because of their working conditions. unfavorable”. According to her, it would be necessary to insist “on the industrial sectors, on the professions of energy transition and dependence”.
Another desire of Emmanuel Macron: “recruit more associate professors from the professional world”. But here too, Sigrid Gerardin expresses her doubts: “Just because you’re a good mechanic doesn’t mean you’re a good mechanics teacher. Teaching is learning,” she says.
The increase in internship times, a divisive subject
The most controversial point concerns the internships. “As of the start of the 2023 school year, internship times will be increased by 50%”, declared Carole Grandjean, the new Minister Delegate for Vocational Education and Training at the back-to-school press conference. Knowing that to date, 22 weeks are already planned for the three years of bac pro, and 12 to 14 weeks for the two years of CAP. A measure that the unions are already criticizing. “If we increase the time for internships, we will reduce the time spent at school. That means less general education and less civic culture. It will hamper the chances of students passing their exams, knowing that the pro high school is already recording the worst results, ”said Sigrid Gerardin. For Laurent Lapayre, national delegate for the professional path at Se-Unsa, the government’s project would lead to “fewer theoretical courses for students who nevertheless need time to assimilate professional knowledge and knowledge”. Which, according to him, would risk “weakening the pursuit of post-baccalaureate studies”.
Especially since under the previous five-year term, the programs had already been reviewed, recall the unions: “With the Blanquer reform of 2018, they have already lost between 3 and 4 hours per week, especially in general education”, indicates Axel Benoist co-secretary of the Snuep-FSU.
Encourage vocations among students, an imperative
The government also wants to better remunerate internship periods. Because today, students are only paid after the 44th day and very little. “The gap that there is between the internships that we know in professional high school and what an apprentice receives is not sustainable, we will have to move towards a convergence”, insisted Emmanuel Macron. According to the first tracks mentioned, the remuneration could be around 200 euros per month for a minor and 500 euros per month for an adult. “This gratuity will be financed by the State”, explained Carole Grandjean.
But all these devices have not yet been implemented and will be discussed in the coming months with the educational community. “As of this start of the 2022 school year, I will launch discussions with all the players on the reform of the vocational high school”, announced the minister. Through these upcoming changes, the government hopes to inspire vocations among students. Because the professional path has lost ground in recent years, while companies in certain sectors are struggling to recruit for lack of candidates. The government is also counting on the weekly half-day of discovery of the world of work (company visits, meetings with professionals, mini internships, etc.) which will be introduced in 5th grade this year. And which also arouses criticism…