Although he has not been in the service of the government since July 2020, Antoine Foucher continues to carry disturbing ideas of reforms. Director of the cabinet of Muriel Penicaud when she was minister of labor, he presented, Wednesday, February 9, a dozen recommendations that outline “a national skills policy” for the next ten years. His approach follows a guiding thread: if France wants to reindustrialize, « succeed » the energy transition and striving for full employment, it is necessary that the skills of the workforce better match the expectations of companies. This implies a very “voluntary”, with substantial budgetary resources and an obligation of results synonymous with electroshock for national education.
After leaving the Rue de Grenelle, Mr. Foucher founded Quintet, a “social strategy consulting firm”, with several former collaborators of MI Penicaud, including Alain Druelles. The two men played a central role in several major projects of the five-year period, including the “professional future” law of September 2018, which turned the world of apprenticeships and continuing education upside down.
The proposals unveiled on Wednesday are their work. They “engage only Quintet”, according to Mr. Foucher, they are part of the extension of the action of the Ministry of Labor since May 2017 and are likely to catch the attention of Emmanuel Macron, as his program for the presidential election is being built.
8,000 euro help on the CPF
One of the most striking recommendations concerns the academic universe and learning. It’s time to “telling the truth” to young people and their families, about the performance of the system. This transparency operation involves the publication of a battery of indicators, including the “employment integration rate” of all vocational high schools and apprentice training centers (CFA). This measure had already been mentioned in February 2018, but without actually materializing.
Today, the founders of Quintet take it over but feel that we need to go even further. Come again? By closing vocational high school classes and eliminating funding for CFA sections with an employment integration rate of less than 50%, for two consecutive years. A provision synonymous with an earthquake if applied. Messrs. Druelles and Foucher are convinced that the community must stop subsidizing training. “mostly unemployed” – their proposal also applies to internships offered to job seekers. The current situation, they say, cannot last any longer, for reasons of efficiency, but also of social justice, because those who suffer the most are poor households.
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