Workplace immersion may help seniors overcome employment hurdles, particularly with high salary expectations and perceived inflexibility. Ifocop, in collaboration with France Travail, has launched the Atout senior program aimed at job seekers over 50 in Île-de-France. The program combines theoretical training with practical internships, boasting an impressive employment return rate. Participants, like Geeta, benefit from financial support during training and can secure job offers, enhancing senior employment opportunities in France, which currently lags behind the European average.
Could workplace immersion be the key to solving the employment challenges faced by seniors? With high salary expectations, limited mobility, and perceived inflexibility, older workers often encounter significant barriers when seeking employment after the age of 50. To address these issues, the training organization Ifocop has teamed up with France Travail to introduce the Atout senior program. This innovative initiative has been piloted in Île-de-France since September and will run for one year, aiming to help job seekers aged 50 and over quickly acquire new skills.
A Comprehensive Training Approach
Ifocop’s approach mirrors traditional apprenticeship models, featuring a four-month theoretical training phase followed by an equivalent practical internship. This blend appears to be highly effective, with an impressive “83% employment return rate for our learners aged 50 and above in the 2022-2023 period,” states Bertrand Lamour, director of Ifocop. This statistic is “2.5 times higher than the average return rate at other training centers for this age group.” Regarding financing, the program’s structure is similarly favorable: “75% of the costs are covered by the host company, while 25% is financed through your CPF,” highlighting the potential for participants to pay little to nothing out of pocket.
From Setbacks to Success
Geeta, a 59-year-old from Île-de-France, exemplifies the journey of many seniors returning to work. Last year, she enrolled in Ifocop’s training for human resources management (HRM) at Emmaüs Alternatives, a discovery that came as a surprise to her. Having spent 34 years at the prestigious caterer Lenôtre, where she advanced from sales to managing multiple boutiques, she left her job in 2017 following a company buyout, feeling a deep sense of loss.
After becoming unemployed at 51, Geeta did not consider early retirement. Instead, she embarked on an exhaustive job search, eventually taking a role as a regional manager at Géraud in 2021. Unfortunately, this position led to burnout, prompting her to resign in February 2023. With unemployment benefits of 1,600 euros a month, significantly lower than her previous salary of 3,800 euros, Geeta used this time to evaluate her career direction and rediscover her passion for human interaction. A Google search in September 2023 led her to Ifocop, which offered the intensive training she was looking for, conveniently located near her home.
Financial Support Throughout Training
Geeta’s decision to join Ifocop was solidified once she calculated the costs. With funding of 7,100 euros from her host company, Emmaüs Alternatives, and an additional 2,800 euros from her CPF, she found that she would not need to pay anything herself. She eagerly began her HR training a few weeks later. Throughout the eight months of her program, she continued to receive her 1,600 euros in unemployment benefits, allowing her to manage her finances effectively. For someone like Geeta, who describes herself as “very frugal,” these financial adjustments were a manageable sacrifice on her path to professional retraining.
It’s worth noting that if participants exhaust their unemployment benefits, France Travail can provide the France Travail Training Allowance (RFFT), which ranges from 220 to 756 euros based on individual profiles. This modest support can be supplemented by reimbursements for accommodation and travel incurred during training.
Opportunities Await After Training
Upon completing her training, Geeta’s hard work paid off as she received an offer from Emmaüs Alternatives to continue on a renewable fixed-term contract with a gross annual salary of 28,000 euros. Although this was lower than her previous salary, Geeta found herself drawn to a competing offer of 40,000 euros. For her, the financial difference was manageable: “I willingly set aside the 20,000 euros less per year compared to my previous position. Having savings and a fulfilling career makes it easier to accept a lower salary.” Her primary goal now is to “regain [her] executive status before turning 60 next year.
Ifocop’s model stands out as a valuable opportunity for those looking to re-enter the workforce after unemployment or shift career paths entirely. This initiative aims to enhance senior employment in France, which currently lags 5.5 points behind the European average, paving the way for future developments like the experience valorization contract and the proposed senior CDI by Medef.