When Learning Goes Hand in Hand with Higher Education
Combining higher education with real-world work experience: that’s the winning combination for landing a job. This approach has a name: the apprenticeship. It’s no secret: apprenticeships are a preferred pathway to employment.
What is the key to this winning formula? A program focused on the needs of businesses and geared toward sectors with high demand. From short-term training to master’s degrees, and from generalist programs to engineering degrees, work-study programs are now available in a wide variety of fields.
The Royal Road to Employment
This alternative to “traditional” education allows students to acquire both high-level theoretical skills and practical experience. The work-study program is thus an excellent way to build connections with a company. It’s a real advantage for entering the workforce: 80% of students find a job upon completing their program.
Students also enjoy another significant benefit: under the apprenticeship contract, they receive compensation that can be as high as 78% of the minimum wage. They even have the luxury of planning for their retirement while still in college: the years spent in an apprenticeship count as full years toward their retirement benefits…
Work-Study Programs at the University: A Winning Choice
Are you an employee at a company and a college student? It’s a win-win situation. Long associated with short-term secondary-level programs (CAP, BEP), the work-study program has now made its way into universities.“There’s still a tendency to think that apprenticeships are for trades that don’t require a high school diploma, yet there’s strong demand from companies for apprentices with college degrees,” notes Emmanuel Vignal, vice president for professional development at theUM.
At the university level, work-study programs now range from the DUT to engineering degrees. And they offer career opportunities in sectors as varied as agronomy, hospitality, chemistry, and the cultural sector… If you choose a long-term program, the work-study master’s degree is for you: a high-level university education… with the added benefit of hands-on experience.
Since January, the Higher Education Apprenticeship Training Center (CFA ENSUP-LR) has brought together all stakeholders in higher education at the regional level. This unprecedented collaboration has earned the academic campus a 2-million-euro grant under the “Investments for the Future” program[i]. In addition to the construction of an administrative and educational center, about 100 housing units will soon be built to accommodate work-study students.
“The Realities of Business”
Alexandre, a student in a graduate program in accounting and management and an apprentice at an accounting firm:
“I chose this path to get a firsthand look at the realities of the business world. Between my classes and my hands-on experience, I realized there were some discrepancies. I was also drawn by the financial compensation—78% of the minimum wage in my case… Before, I had to work a part-time student job on the weekends, which left me very little time for myself. My contract is coming to an end now, but there’s a good chance my employer will keep me on. The work-study program requires dedication, and the beginning can be tough, but for me, it’s been a very good experience.”
More info
Members of the Higher Education Apprenticeship Training Center: University of Montpellier, Montpellier SupAgro, Paul Valéry University of Montpellier, National School of Chemistry of Montpellier, University of Nîmes, and University of Perpignan Via Domitia.
[i] The Region, the CROUS, and the regional education office contribute the remaining funds, bringing the total to 7.7 million euros.