25% of Secondary students found an internship three weeks before the deadline

Three weeks before the deadline, 25% of Secondary students have found an internship at the end of May, France Culture learned on Tuesday May 28 from union sources. Announced in September 2023, this new compulsory two-week internship, from June 17 to 28, must be carried out in a company, in an association or in a public service. It was put in place so that Second Year students in general and technological streams do not go on vacation before the end of the school year. While he was Minister of Education, Gabriel Attal had indeed wanted to tackle a “true reconquest of the month of June”.

Except that students struggle to find offers. This situation is even more complicated for students in rural areas and in priority education networks, deplores the Federation of Parents’ Councils (FCPE). Its president, Grégoire Ensel, notes that “many families do not have this professional friendship network”. He assures that many students “would like to have an internship to be a lawyer or in a local company” but “can’t find” And “are still looking” at the end of May. “It will come down to Netflix, Amazon Prime or Disney + internships”either “clearly on the sofa for two weeks”he regrets.

The Ministry of Education refuses to comment on these figures. Instead, it highlights the “1 young person, 1 solution” platform and reminds that students who find themselves without an internship will still be able to come to their establishment. On this last point precisely, the unions fear that there will not be enough staff to accommodate these high school students. Olivier Beaufrere, national secretary of the SNPDEN (National Union of Management Personnel of National Education) explains that there will be “the organization of the baccalaureate from June 14 to 21 for the written tests”, “teachers will then be corrected”, then the oral tests will be held “French and Grand Oral” and finally the “catch-up sessions”. This will mobilize staff “practically until July 11”he “it will therefore be impossible to be able to regularly welcome students over this period”, he adds.

The unions are therefore asking Minister Nicole Belloubet for more consultation so that these courses are better organized next year. They also plead for these internships to have a real educational objective and not only to be organized to occupy students at the end of the third term.