more than 800,000 contracts signed in 2022, a new record

Soon the million? Some 811,500 apprenticeship contracts were signed in the private sector in 2022, an increase of 14% compared to 2021, according to a report from the Ministry of Labor made public on Thursday March 2. Adding those in the public sector, the total rises to 837,000 contracts concluded.

Although the increase is less spectacular than in the past two years (+46% in 2020 and +38% in 2021), it remains in line with the government’s objective of reaching one million contracts signed per year by 2027.

As in previous years, this increase is still driven by higher education, which represents 63% of apprenticeship contracts. But “there is an increase in the number of contracts for all degree levels”, underlines the Ministry of Labor. Accessible to young people aged 16 to 29, apprenticeship is based on the principle of alternating between theoretical education and vocational training with the employer with whom the apprentice has signed his contract.

A majority of contracts in the service sector

Two-thirds of contracts are signed with companies with fewer than 50 employees. Services (with 73% of contracts signed) take the lion’s share, ahead of industry (14%) and construction (11%). Two out of three young people are in employment six months after the end of their apprenticeship. This figure rises to 73% in the energy/chemical/metallurgy sector, ahead of transport/handling/warehousing (72%) and mechanics/metal structures (71%).

The increase in contracts is explained in particular by the 2018 reform, which liberalized apprenticeship both in terms of entry conditions and training offer. The momentum was also boosted by the exceptional aid decided during the crisis. This bonus (5,000 euros for a minor, 8,000 for an adult) has made the cost of the first year almost nil for the employer. And higher education training is eligible, which was not the case for the aid existing before the Covid crisis.

This bonus was replaced on January 1 by a single aid of 6,000 euros paid to all companies for all contracts concluded with a work-study student, minor or major, for the first year of the contract. It will be maintained until the end of the five-year period.