There are approximately 250 occupations, 510 specialities and more than 600 training courses in this sector which remains extremely diversified and strong. It is still necessary to have the profile…

Hugo, 18 years old, has just emerged from a CAP (professional aptitude certificate) jewellery. “A passion! But it requires rigour and precision to do this job.” A 21-year-old Jessica, meanwhile, is an apprentice butcher in a shop in the heart of the Seventeenth arrondissement of Paris. “This requires me to be always in a good mood and to master the techniques because I work in front of customers.”

READ ALSO >> Crafting of luxury: the passion and the know-how

Each year, such as Hugo and Jessica, 200000 apprentices are trained in trades of the craft, following one of the 600 curriculum specialist from the CAPE as an engineer, going through the BTS (patent de technicien supérieur) and DUT (university diploma of technology).

A solution anti-crisis

piano Tuner, hosier, hairdresser, confectioner, carpenter, roofer… There are no less than 250 trades available in 510 specialties which are grouped into four main families (food, building, production and service). Their common point? Jobs the key to, and often in CDI (contract of unlimited duration).

“More than 100,000 jobs are to be filled each year in all trades of the craft. Business leaders fail to recruit qualified young people in sufficient numbers,” laments François Moutot, general director of the permanent Assembly of chambers of trades and crafts.

alternation to form

Another point in common: the alternating training, half in school, half in business. “Based on the transmission of professional know-how, learning offers the possibility of constructing a curriculum while benefiting from a contract of employment and remuneration.

This is the royal way, especially as the know-how to the French is recognized around the world,” says Jack Le Clainche, president of the general Confederation of French craftsmanship. “And with a little experience, it is easy to become your own boss,” says Damien Canonne, director or “provost” of the Companions of the duty for the Bouches-du-Rhône and the Vaucluse, which form 10000 apprentices per year.

The school of the transmission of knowledge

however, in order to be a craftsman, it is really necessary to have a few predispositions. The first is the motivation. “It is an obligation, insists Damien Canonne. I need to find a spark of the love of the craft in the eyes of the candidate. And the role of the Companions of the duty is to maintain the passion of each,” he says.

Then, he must be endowed with a certain dose of patience. The time of learning that lasts up to five years, to which add three years to completely control the actions of the business. “The practice is learned in business and the theory is valid in the training centre”, says François Moutot.

For Damien Canonne, “craft is a great school for knowledge transfer. It is through his faculty of understanding that it will be observed that the young will become an artisan. To do this, it takes time.” Finally, the candidate craft must love to create and meet challenges, often very technical. “A young person who pushes the door, saying to me: “I want to make something concrete” and that like a particular subject, it is earned.”, provides Damien Canonne.

Read our complete file

Heirs, family drama of a rare delicacy of The priorities of Bruno Retailleau for pays de la Loire pays de la Loire: Bruno Retailleau, the new hero of Notre-Dame-des-Landes

not to mention the rigor. “The future craftsman must comply with strict specifications, warns Damien Canonne. He needs to understand the business carefully and respect the materials. That is not to say rigid, because they need a good dose of creativity. And who says that is rigorous, said conscientious and have integrity.”