Globalization is competition, the competition between talents and human skills on a global scale. Faced with the rise of emerging countries, the Western world is beginning to doubt its model, based on the democracy–freedom relationship, because growth can no longer satisfy all popular expectations. The relocation of activities and digitization have disrupted the world of work, pushing many women and men into precariousness and uncertain futures.

In the face of rising youth unemployment, many countries are questioning the effectiveness of their education systems. It must be said that those who have left the responsibility for providing vocational training for young people to companies have had more convincing results than those who have chosen to rely on their academic authorities. It was therefore only after the double shock of the relocation of activities and digitization that the virtues of learning were rediscovered. Inherited from the Middle Ages, this practice of initiation to professions had almost disappeared in several countries in the name of a mystifying ideology. National experiences provide lessons. Consequently, considering the baccalaureate to be the key to personal success, France has decided to award it to as many young people as possible at the risk of sacrificing their employability. On the other hand, Switzerland is satisfied with having only one-third of its graduates in each age group and allows its graduate apprentices to continue their studies at university.

Faced with the challenges of globalization in Europe, leaders agree that vocational training has become a priority among future investments, and apprenticeships are regaining their rightful place at the heart of a pact of trust between entrepreneurial citizens and public authorities. There is an urgent need to make up for lost time and fill in gaps. There is considerable scope for progress. Based on the model of the Olympic Games, the international collective WorldSkills organizes the Skills Olympics every two years. The workshop replaces the stadium. In the trades they have chosen, the best apprentices in the world compete as athletes do. This competition gives indications of the relative levels of the selected young people in their countries of origin. According to the jury, in the welder category, comparing the work of a Korean apprentice to that of a European apprentice is a painting by Leonardo da Vinci next to a child’s drawing. If the line is forced, it probably reflects something obvious.

Apprenticeships imply the responsibility of companies in vocational training. The exemplary countries in this respect, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria and Switzerland, are rich in a culture rooted in economic and social structure. All entrepreneurs are aware of their duty to assume and invest directly in training, without relying on institutions run by public authorities. For a long time, apprenticeships were confined only to the field of crafts, but are now developing in all companies, SMEs and multinationals, as well as for the benefit of all levels of general education, to become a worker or engineer. A sign of the times, higher education, Grandes Écoles¹ and universities have taken up apprenticeships by including them in courses open to students.

The commitment of companies calls for the transformation of apprenticeship training centers and, more generally, of all institutions hosting professional learners. Their partnership with companies is based on mutual trust and the need for excellence. Apprenticeships bring together the pragmatism of companies and the academic rigor of teachers. Technological progress requires increasingly heavy investments. In addition, the influence of artificial intelligence heralds profound and costly transformations. The specialization of training centers will undoubtedly lead learners, in certain disciplines, to move to perfect their knowledge and professional skills in hyper-specialized centers. From this perspective, national borders will no longer be like barriers. Like higher education institutions, apprenticeship training centers must be prepared to welcome young people from other countries. This means that some courses will gradually be taught in foreign languages, probably English.

At a time when multilateralism is faltering, Europe is becoming aware of its weaknesses. To regain its strategic autonomy, it must give all of its young people the keys to access to employment. Competitiveness is the result of competence and intelligence in given situations. International mobility is therefore an integral part of vocational training. It gives the opportunity to encounter good practices, compare and innovate. The young person’s career path, beyond mastering professional activities, forms character and develops a “learn-by-doing” personality. Erasmus is undoubtedly one of the most promising programs implemented by the European Union. In the form of scholarships for young people, it facilitates a real cultural and linguistic immersion in another country. Feedback from experience shows that mobility enriches the curriculum in a beneficial way. While there are still legal or academic obstacles to be removed here and there, the dynamic is at work and is a real lever for the employability of young people and the competitiveness of the French economy.

Trust is the key to success. The Copernican revolution to be launched therefore aims to simplify the legislative and regulatory frameworks built over the years by national authorities. Decentralization and flexibility are now essential. Creativity and innovation are cultivated in the field, in contact with the reality of business, human and technological. In this context, having demonstrated that apprenticeships are the key to entering the world of work, it will be time to reform vocational training for adults by facilitating retraining through lifelong learning. In the looming economic war, building skills is the most powerful shield.

Jean ARTHUIS
European Deputy and President of the European
Parliament Committee on Budgets 2014–2019
France