Historically, the development of vocational training responds to a logic of labor shortages in sectors with high recruitment potential. In my approach, I am interested in the continuous professional training of employees and job seekers and not in initial training, which targets high school students and undergraduates. The 1971 law on vocational training expanded the scope of this component, moving from a “tool for employee adaptation” to a “means of personal development and social promotion.” Continuing education relies on funding from companies for employees and local authorities, particularly the Regions, for job seekers. It is deployed in private training centers (companies or associations) that meet qualification and skill needs. We can mention AFPA as a historical training body, particularly for training job seekers in technical trades. The weight of history, and often the economic context, has contributed to modeling national approaches in terms of governance of systems, financing, and targeted professional sectors. Without wishing to dwell on the definition and operation of the current system, I propose to discuss training in connection with the university to better meet the challenges of active individuals in terms of integration and professional mobility. The university has always had a limited place in this scheme, even if more and more employees are returning to university; it can play a leading role in the coming years under certain conditions.
Supporting the deployment of corporate universities
Currently, France has approximately 5.4 million job seekers in all categories combined (1). In this context, training must respond to the transformations of the economy, support the growth of developing companies, and secure the professional transitions of learners. The globalization of the economy has favored the arrival of a new, increasingly active training player: the company. The creation of an interdependent economy with a global market has facilitated the rise of large groups present on all continents. Training has evolved in this context. Several options exist: choosing between training internally via job adaptation and/or making this component more flexible through outsourcing training…
Today, groups are moving towards creating their own structures: schools, universities, campuses. This corporate university system exists mainly in the United States and has seen recent development in France, particularly in banking and large-scale retail. Accessible only to company employees, the university of an international group can play a growing role in the coming years, provided that access, operation, and organization are decompartmentalized.
We can take the example of large-scale retail; the recruitment potential is significant. We address it through CAP, bac pro, BTS, licenses, and masters training, deploying training offers with a multitude of training organizations across the entire national territory, sometimes without connection to the recruiting companies and without a sectoral strategy to meet recruitment challenges. Why not open CARREFOUR or AUCHAN schools to all audiences to gain efficiency? After all, are they not best placed to train future employees…
Furthermore, it seems appropriate to involve the French university in this process, particularly in the conceptual, research, and development parts. It would be wise to connect “corporate universities” and “French universities,” notably to develop synergies in the training of students and employees and, above all, to end the dichotomy between conceptual approaches, which would fall solely under the university, and technical approaches of the company. This evolution would give a significant place to higher education with a positioning on the “skills” component.
Encouraging innovation through MOOCs
The deployment of “MOOCs,” which are online and interactive training courses open to all, has disrupted the approach of the classic system. A MOOC integrates video content, exchange forums, and assessments. The creation of a global community of learners with the widest possible access is a significant step in access to knowledge for all. The opening of MOOCs taught by the largest universities and followed by thousands of learners offers the possibility of high-quality training. In France, training is offered by the Sorbonne, Sciences Po, and universities across the country. It is the prestigious universities that have adopted the MOOC tool and are deploying these training programs. Thousands of people can simultaneously follow these training courses at their own pace, remotely, for free, and with quality.
This is a wonderful opportunity for the employee who wishes to train without going through long procedures or for the job seeker who wants to avoid career breaks. The university must seize this tool to create a structural training program. Even if MOOCs are calibrated to a short format, there are skills that constitute prerequisites for entering the business world: soft skills, project management, commercial profiles… Even if MOOCs exist for these skills, they must be opened to all audiences: employees, job seekers, students, and even from middle school.
When some active individuals wait more than a year to enter training due to lack of availability, and knowing all the obstacle courses to find training, financing, or moving to train, the university, through its striking power, can train quickly and massively and offer career continuations to learners. This tool will accelerate professional reconversions and make the learner the actor of their project.
Creating collective events around skills
Training is often deployed in a classic format: learners in a room with a trainer. To better organize transmission and make it more attractive, new, more adapted formats are needed, relying on technological innovation like MOOCs or distance learning… but also developing events around skills. In recent years, entrepreneurship has been encouraged by “start-up weekend” type schemes. One can imagine a dynamic format with a digital approach within the framework of training for employees and job seekers without distinction. “Practice job X in 54 hours” or how to “acquire skill X in X hours.” The university, open to all, regardless of age or status, is a formidable tool for developing a society that carries knowledge. We could accelerate the skills of active individuals through a collective approach by creating challenges, project management, and innovation at the service of training. We must change the learner’s posture, making them an actor through a dynamic approach to the cognitive process. The collective configuration limits the phenomenon of isolation and solitude encountered by the learner facing their difficulties. An event of this type favors the “collective competence” approach at the heart of learning, to use the concept developed by Le Boterf.
The university possesses the logistics with all its campuses in all territories. Above all, it has the human resources to coordinate these events, which would be free, by involving companies in these projects. Around company issues regarding specific jobs or needs, a challenge could be created to train future professionals.
