Internship and mandatory contract, the ordeal of young French graduates!

In France, the number of internships increases every year: from 800,000 interns in 2005, they are estimated to have reached 1.5 million in 2010 according to the Economic and Social Council.
Indeed, many schools require their students to complete an internship in a company in order to validate their diploma and approximately 70% of master's students report at least one internship during their university years.

The challenges at this stage? Having a good CV, knowing how to write a cover letter, and nailing your job interview! In short, nothing insurmountable if you know a few best practices!

Once you have your diploma, welcome to the job market!

With an unemployment rate of 25.6% among young people under 25, finding a first job is proving slightly more difficult than expected, and doing an internship in a company seems to be a good alternative.

Problem? Without a school/university, no agreement = no internship!

And the solutions are few and far between and quite expensive... Unless you go abroad where internship agreements are not mandatory or spend several thousand euros for a gap year, hello hassle! Some grandes écoles and universities have now become known for offering internship agreements at exorbitant prices, thus taking advantage of the difficult situation in which young graduates find themselves. "Sciences Po asked me for 2500 euros for a 6-month internship agreement," Julie says on a forum. And this is far from being an isolated case...

As a result, many of them are leaving France to go to other destinations, particularly the United States, Asia, and Latin America. Some are turning to a new trend: online universities: most are recognized and allow access to courses and internship agreements at a very affordable cost. The flexibility of online courses allows you to calmly consider your internship and study peacefully on weekends or in the evenings.

However, this situation raises a real question: should we relax the legislation and make it easier to do internships, which would encourage a certain precariousness among young people, or should we maintain it at the risk of losing our most promising talents? The debate is well and truly open in France!