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Published on: 15/02/2022Updated on: 15/02/2022
In early September 2021, the Hauts de Garonne Multi-Year Local Plan for Integration and Employment wanted to implement a partial certification pathway toward the family assistant profession in its territory. This profession covers a broad spectrum of activities at the intersection of ecological, demographic, and digital transitions. Indeed, home maintenance and domestic sphere management provides support for both dependent and independent elderly people, working professionals, and families.
Through discussions with key project partners - including the business relations manager, PLIE director (who leads the project), and representatives from the Pôle emploi agencies in Lormont and Cenon that fund the program - we identified the training needs of job seekers who require additional support to qualify as family assistants.
To meet this specific request, IPERIA has crafted a customized pathway in terms of design and employability. With support from the University of Home Care Services, its adaptation into a training pathway allowed for close alignment with target audience profiles and local needs. It covers five skill blocks that are part of the family assistant qualification (which comprises 8):
- Development of professional activity with multiple individual employers
- Management of professional activity with individual employers
- Prevention and safety at home
- Home and laundry maintenance: eco-responsible practices
- Daily activities and care for children over 3 years old
The 333-hour pathway includes:
- Language skills training
- First aid training (SST Certificate)
- 35-hour professional placement
- 12.5 hours of individualized follow-up and experience feedback
Sandrine Blanc, territorial certification representative at IPERIA, and Florie Lahouste, territorial training representative at UDD, supported INFA Aquitaine, a certified training organization, in implementing this pathway.
Thus, six job seekers completed their certification pathway on February 11, which began on November 8. Two of them already received job offers during their placement. As for the others, they now share the same goal: finding employment quickly thanks to the certification that should reassure individual employers.
This partnership approach aims to set a standard of excellence for the region, particularly in showcasing the family assistant role. This profession faces recruitment challenges and declining interest from job seekers. However, considering the aging population and societal evolution, it is definitely a profession of the future. Indeed, just to compensate for retirements, 186,500 professionals will need to be recruited by 2030, representing 45% of the current workforce*.
Want to learn more? Read our article on the state of the family assistant profession in Europe.
*Source: "Forward-looking study of the professional branches of childcare providers and employees of individual employers: meeting the challenges of employment, occupations, and skills by 2030", directed by Eva Barachino and Nadège Turco, IPERIA, Paris, 2021.
