Apprenticeship as One Response to Major Employment and Skills Needs by 2030

The sector includes 1.4 million personal carers, family assistants, childminders, and childcare providers. These professions, which meet fundamental support needs in individual and family life, confirmed their essential role in society's functioning during the health crisis by continuing to care for the elderly, look after children, and support families. Therefore, it is a leading professional sector that is central to the country's economy and social cohesion.

By 2030, sector professions are expected to experience significant recruitment pressures related to current employees' retirement and job creation to meet future needs.

First, the personal carer profession faces challenging demographic circumstances requiring new recruitment needs. Population aging will intensify in coming years, and by 2030, 2.6 million people will be 85 or older. While all indicators show that home-based living is the preferred option for people aged 65 and over, support needs for this population will necessarily increase. The problem is that half of sector employees are aged 50 or over (51.7% in 2017), representing as many retirements to fill over the next 10 years*.

For childcare providers, replacement needs for retirements, already noticeable today, will be significant over the next decade.

More than 700,000 positions must be planned across all professions in the sector by 2030*. Marielle Brouard, President of the Joint National Employment and Training Committee for domestic employees' professional branch, concludes: "The gap between home-based intervention needs and workforce availability is established. It will inevitably worsen without strong and urgent commitments."

It should be emphasized that these commitments must be based on a nuanced view of the sector to meet expectations. Indeed, despite positive perceptions regarding social utility and job creation, views are more measured concerning skills development, employee recognition, and career prospects, according to an IPSOS survey conducted for FEPEM (also revealed on July 8 at the National Home Employment Congress).

Consequently, multiple challenges must be overcome. The task is to raise awareness of these professions by highlighting their significant social utility while making them attractive and accessible, particularly to young people. For Rachel Ruhland, President of the Joint National Employment and Training Committee for individual employers' childcare providers' professional branch, the priority is to "bridge the gap between employment, professions, and associated skills."

Apprenticeship is one response to sector employment needs as it mainly targets young people with the prospect of recognized skills. It will enable them to acquire professional qualifications through theoretical learning and professional practice linked to received teachings.

However, it goes without saying that in the individual employment and domestic work sectors, the classic model of alternating between theoretical training in a school and practical training in a company cannot be applied without adaptation. Sector professions involve a unique relationship with the employer since they are individuals, and the work takes place in their home (or in the professional's own home for childcare providers), most often without the individual employer(s). As such, the sector's professional branches and IPERIA are jointly reflecting on adapting the apprenticeship model to sector specificities while considering the particular status of individual employers and the direct employment model between individuals.

First, an inter-branch framework agreement implementing a professionalization policy for the sector, signed by social partners in November 2020, establishes the need to develop this new certification pathway. This reflection led to the new agreement signed on July 8 at the National Home Employment Congress, which outlines the framework for future apprenticeship contracts.

To make the agreement's provisions operational, it was essential to clarify the exercise of the apprenticeship mentor role. Given their responsibilities, the mentor's mission is to contribute to the apprentice's acquisition of skills corresponding to the sought qualification and the certification or diploma being prepared in coordination with the training center. They must also meet certain conditions regarding qualifications and experience in the apprentice's professional field. However, for individual employers, meeting these criteria proves complex. This is where the main adaptation for the sector lies, and it is currently the primary focus of reflection.

The final milestone in the work-study establishment plan is creating a sector-specific apprenticeship training center of national scope under joint governance. Housed within the University of Home Care Services, a key player in developing the sector's priority training offering, the center's mission will include fulfilling apprenticeship center obligations while considering sector specificities and working in a network with various IPERIA-accredited training organizations across the territory to establish the training component.

Certification is fundamental for acquiring and guaranteeing necessary job skills to future employers. It also contributes to promoting sector professions and skills. Professional qualifications constitute a significant asset for young people who wish to practice these professions: they facilitate job searching, secure career paths from sector entry, and help promote the professions through skills by offering quality support.

IPERIA's three level 3 qualifications - "Childcare Provider/Childminder," "Dependency Personal Carer," and "Family Assistant," registered in the RNCP since 2009 (National Directory of Professional Certifications) are proof as they involve skills evaluation by a certification jury. This is an argument to make to individual employers who, since they entrust what is most precious to them (their child, their parents, their home), need guarantees and solid criteria to choose between candidates. This is particularly important for young people who might be excluded from recruitment due to lack of experience when they don't have a professional qualification. During the hiring process, it's difficult for an individual employer who isn't an HR professional to conduct an interview and select an employee who will meet their needs and expectations. The most experienced have the advantage; therefore, for young people, the professional qualification is an opportunity to stand out through guaranteed expertise.

Finally, professional certifications play a crucial role in these professions that sometimes still suffer from a degraded image. The qualifications awarded represent a driver for employability, career path security, and professional recognition. Recognition through skills that will change society's view of these professions and attract young people through apprenticeship to meet future employment challenges!