French flexicurity – Part 3: the vocational training reform

In his report on the French flexicurity, Edward Hamilton analyses the reforms undertaken by President Macron to transform the French social model. The vocational training reform is one of them. This reform aims at developing and strengthening the competitivity of the employees by improving the quality and access to training.

The vocational training is intended for employees, self-employed persons, company managers or jobseekers. It allows them to train throughout their careers, to develop their skills and get access to employment, to stay in employment or to change jobs. From the corporate perspective, the vocational training reform adapts the training to meet the actual needs of the companies and the labor market. This reform was implemented in the Act for the freedom to choose one’s future career, on August, 2018.  

A Trip Advisor model to choose the right training

According to Edward Hamilton, one of the main innovations in this reform is the way people will be able to choose and rate the different service providers, as you do on Trip Advisor.

The other main features of this reform are:

• A €15 billion skills investment plan aimed at job seekers and young people. In total, two million people will be trained in the five coming years. 
• The vocational training offers individuals greater freedom to choose their future profession and the ability to build a career, thanks notably to career advancement advice provided for free by accredited bodies. 
• It simplifies the formalities businesses by adjusting the rules governing the funding of professional development. 
• It also introduces a right to fail for self-employed workers, with the payment of a fixed benefit of €800 per month for six months in the event of compulsory liquidation or if they leave as a result of a bankruptcy protection procedure.