When apprenticeship rhymes with superiority
Combining higher education with business experience is the winning combination for landing a job. It's a formula with a name: apprenticeship. It's no secret that apprenticeships are a privileged route to employment.
The key to this winning formula? An offer focused on the needs of companies and geared towards sectors in high demand. From short courses to Master's degrees, from general courses to engineering diplomas, work-study programs are now available in a wide variety of fields.
The royal road to employment
This alternative to "conventional" training enables you to acquire both high-level theoretical skills and practical experience. It's also an excellent way to establish contacts with a company. A real plus for professional integration: 80% of students find a job on completion of their training.
Students also benefit from another important advantage: as part of their apprenticeship contract, they are paid up to 78% of the minimum wage. They even have the luxury of preparing for old age while still at university: the years spent as an apprentice are counted as full years towards retirement...
Work-study programmes at university, the winning choice
Working for a company and studying at university? It's the winning choice. Long associated with short courses at secondary level (CAP, BEP), apprenticeships have now been extended to universities. "There's still a tendency to think that apprenticeships are for sub-baccalaureate occupations, but there's a strong demand from companies for apprentices with higher education qualifications," notes Emmanuel Vignal, vice-president in charge of professionalization at the UM.
At the university, apprenticeships are now available from DUT to engineering degrees. If you're looking for a long course of study, a work-study Master's degree is just what you're looking for: top-level university training... with the added bonus of experience.
Since January, the Centre de formation des apprentis du supérieur (CFA ENSUP-LR) has brought together all the players in higher education on a regional scale. This unprecedented rapprochement has earned the academic site a €2 million grant under the "Investments d'avenir" program[i]. In addition to the construction of an administrative and pedagogical center, around a hundred housing units will soon be built to accommodate work-study students.
"The realities of business
Alexandre, enrolled in a post-graduate diploma in accounting and management and an apprentice in an accountancy firm:
"I chose this path to get a real feel for the realities of business. Between the classroom and the field, I realized that there were certain differences. I was also attracted by the financial contribution, 78% of the minimum wage in my case... Previously, I'd been obliged to have a student job at the weekend, which left me very little time for myself. I'm now coming to the end of my contract, but there's a good chance that my employer will keep me on. Work-study contracts require a lot of investment, and the early stages can be difficult, but for me it's been a very good experience".
More info
Members of the Centre de formation des apprentis du supérieur: Université de Montpellier, Montpellier SupAgro, Université Paul Valéry Montpellier, Ecole Nationale de Chimie de Montpellier, Université de Nîmes, Université de Perpignan Via Domitia.
[ i ] The Region, the CROUS and the Rectorat complete the amount for a total of 7.7 million euros.