This observation course was set up to occupy secondary students in June when their teachers take care of the bac. But some find themselves far from their aspirations, for lack of network or opportunities.
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More than 550,000 second students have been on an internship since June 16. A second edition after encouraging figures in 2024, the year it was set up, since 85 to 98% of secondary students had finally found an internship, according to figures from the Ministry of Education. We do not yet know those of 2025. But behind these good results, there are sometimes internships accepted by default. Franceinfo met these young high school students who did not find an internship in the field which interested them.
Aurore met in Drancy, in Seine-Saint-Denis is 15 years old and finds herself on an internship in a supermarket. Yet she wants to be a lawyer later. But after a dozen applications in law firms, “Either I went directly to ask them. They told me that they did not take trainees or that they already had too much, it was too far for me“She says.
Especially since the parents of Aurore do not necessarily have a network in the legal field, his father works in the construction and his mother is a nurse. Aurore wanted to discover the relationship between a lawyer and his customers, but, finally, she was at the cash register of this supermarket. “”It’s scamshe said. It’s rather exhausting because I unpack the boxes, I put away, I made chopsticks, croissants and I made the cash register today …“”
The supermarket manager explains to be contacted by teachers who want to know if he has places to take trainees. “”We tell them yeshe reports. 70%, it was trainees who did not find an internship in their field. It gives us a little help and we try to train them in all positions: cashier, ordering preparer, shelving, customer relationship. They discover the world of the profession. Because school is good, but you also have to discover the real world a little.“”
Change of decor, this time in the heart of Paris. Héloïse had found an internship in an insurance company. But the day before his first day, he was canceled. She falls aside in an emergency on an internship in a cafe, which interests her much less.
“If we don’t have someone who is already placed or just contact to help us, it’s really complicated.”
Héloïse, pupil in secondon franceinfo
“”I have friends who found in local town halls, when they want to become a writertestifies Héloïse. And I want to finance and I find myself in a small coffee. And there are some who do not even have an internship, because they have no network.“”
To avoid these default internships, structures help young people without a network to find them in connection with their professional project. Like the 3V exponential association in Seine-Saint-Denis which helped 35 secondary students in two years. Asma Seghouane is the president of the association supports young people from the department in orientation and professional integration.
“”Sometimesshe said, I even had teachers who came back to me to say ‘Asma Mayday, I have a kid whose parents barely speak French, so suddenly, they have no network’. They have just arrived in France where there is, in addition to the social barrier, the barrier of the language. Generally, on these profiles, we really receive requests at the last minute and we try to play the network. “”
But sometimes that is not enough, some young people suffer from discrimination from this first professional experience.
“Many people have not been accepted because we stopped at their CV.”
Asma Seghouane, president of Exponential 3Von franceinfo
“”We had kids who put their address. Me, I had recruiters who said to me ‘no, not city kids’,,,,,,,, and Asma’s Deplore. They were afraid that the riots that there were in the cities will find themselves at the foot of the building of society. We really had this kind of reflection, so good, when there is a problem on the address because it is a priority district of the city, well we just put the city, etc. As we adapt to the demand of the company, we also adapt its supply which is our CV.“”
A situation which varies according to the territories. It is often more difficult to find an internship in rural areas. Example in Beaujolais with Gérard Heinz, principal of a high school in Belleville-en-Beaujolais and member of the main national union of principals, SNPDEN-UNSA. “”On Beaujolaishe said, We have three high schools, which represents about 1 600 second students who arrive simultaneously on a business market which necessarily cannot absorb all of the students who are looking for internships.“”
Result: at the beginning this internship period, 40% of his students had found nothing. “”Students who have not found an internship remain at home and are on vacation much earlierhe explains. We also do not have human resources at a given time to make individualized follow -up and verify what their situation is or offer them for example educational activities, since in any case, teachers being mobilized on other tasks and responsibilities, we cannot take care of it in any way.“”
Especially since this year, this second internship period comes to hit other internships, those for professional bins, which are essential for graduation.
