Here you will find some information on some developments in youth employment policy in France.
French President François Hollande was elected on 6 May 2012, and right from the beginning he asserted that he wanted to be judged on two issues: justice and youth. Currently one in four young people are out of work in France and the poverty rate for young people is twice that of the rest of the population.
The government has began to make proposals and an inter-ministerial committee will make unveil a finalised youth strategy on 21 February. Two priorities have already been established youth: education and employment.
One of the main proposals are contracts de generation, where businesses with less than 300 employees would employ a young person to work in partnership with a senior employee over the age of 57. The business would then receive a tax break. The government aims to put 500,000 contracts like this in place over the next 5 years.
The French government has already put in place a system of subsidised employment for young people between 16 and 25, it is generally aimed at those that do not have third-level education. Young people of this age can benefit from a short term contract (maximum of 3 years) in an NGO, cooperative or public enterprise with the sate paying for 75% of the minimum wage. 150,000 jobs like this are foreseen between now and 2014 and the scheme is designed to be a ‘trampoline’ towards employment.
The Prime Minister, Jean-Marc Ayault, has also unveiled a ‘garantie jeune’ (youth guarantee) for France. The French youth guarantee is aimed more towards young people without jobs or training. The French youth guarantee is still a little unclear at this stage.
Hollande has also promised to limit short-term contracts for young people in order to reduce precocity, this policy is following an agreement made with three of the main trade unions in France.
There are also plans to reduce early school leaving, currently 140,000 young people leave school every year in France without any qualifications. The government aims to reduce this number by 20,000 in 2013.
Most of this information was taken from a series of articles in Le Monde, you can find then at the link below:
