Who has never thought about giving up everything to change careers? Sometimes suffered, often chosen, retraining has never bothered the French so much, especially after the coronavirus pandemic. Covid-19. To give meaning to their daily lives, earn a better living or simply get a change of scenery. Here are the keys to succeeding in this vital turning point, step by step, depending on your qualifications and your age.
Héloïse Letellier was marketing director of a major cosmetics brand when she decided to give up everything to become a speech therapist. A hell of a challenge for the Ile-de-France resident, who had to complete another five years of study. “I made a conventional break, and Pôle emploi (former name of France Travail) paid me the return to employment training assistance allowance (Aref) for two years,” confides the forty-year-old. She then did consulting work, alongside her studies, to make ends meet. “But it’s worth it, it’s the job I’ve always wanted to do!” testifies this courageous mother of four boys.
Changing careers is a project that attracts more and more French people. 1 in 2 workers are thinking about changing jobs, and 21% of those questioned are preparing their professional retraining, if we are to believe the survey carried out last year by Center inffo, a professional training specialist, with 1,600 adults. The pandemic has accelerated awareness. “People cut their routine, changed their habits, they took the time to settle down. Many asked themselves if they didn’t want to live differently,” says Nicole Levy, certified professional coach. The specialist supports working people in the midst of a midlife crisis, but also, increasingly, young people under 30. “They go faster than us. They don’t wait to exhaust themselves to ask themselves the right questions,” she smiles. Digital innovation is changing the way employees think about their careers. Especially since technological disruptions such as artificial intelligence are shaking up businesses. “Continuing training is becoming an essential complement to initial training,” believes Romain Paillard, co-founder of Le Wagon, an intensive program for tech careers. The public authorities are trying to follow suit, but it takes courage to navigate the aid maquis. Six-step journey.
1. Ask yourself the right questions
What makes you want to change: the content of your job, its purpose, the working environment, the hours, your income, etc.? Retraining is just one solution among others. “At the end of a skills assessment, around a third of people turn to a new profession. The others will, for example, change teams, companies, or become self-employed while keeping the same activity “, points out Ludovic de Gromard, co-founder of Chance, a program which has assisted more than 20,000 active people in their professional projects since 2015. To nourish their reflection, the individual can first “dream big”, then narrow down the options according to their feasibility. Particularly by meeting people in the profession.
2. Get help
Is this a reconversion that you are considering? The prospect of leaving your job to try an adventure elsewhere sometimes seems dizzying. Asking a coach or doing a skills assessment can help take stock and increase motivation – especially for those who have come dangerously close to burnout. “Some of my clients have a solid CV and a very good network. On paper, they know how to fend for themselves. But they suffer so much from their current job that something inside them has broken, so they have doubts. I help them to combat their limiting beliefs,” explains Nicole Levy. It is better to choose a certified coach, himself supervised by another coach. To avoid coming across a charlatan, we will consult the sites of the three federations, EMCC, ICF Or SFCoach. The personal training account (CPF) finances skills assessments, some of which are provided by coaches. “Those who have a limited budget can request solidarity coaching from the federations. You can find sessions for 50 euros,” explains Nicole Levy. Note that the public authorities offer a personalized support system, professional development advice (CEP), completely free.
3. Face reality
Before signing up for several months or years of training, it is important to get a concrete idea of it, and not just by going to job forums. There are probably online courses (Mooc) on the targeted profession, of which it may be interesting to follow a few modules. “Le Wagon organizes free evenings so that candidates can get a first glimpse of our training. We also host one-day workshops dedicated to women considering a career in tech. Candidates can attend demos from our trainees at the end training. It’s an excellent opportunity to interact with them,” explains Romain Paillard.
4. Choose the right training
It is very easy to find reviews of restaurants or hotels on the Internet, but much more difficult to judge the solidity of a training organization. There are nevertheless some reference sites, such as SwitchUp or Course Report in tech. There’s nothing like talking to people in the profession to identify the most useful and recognized courses in their field – asking for other contacts at each meeting to multiply and cross-reference opinions. Those who absolutely cannot leave their current job will turn to the National Center for Distance Education (Cned) or distance learning modules which they will follow alongside their work. Intensive type formulas boot camp over a few weeks, offered for example by the Wagon in digital technology or the Solive in energy renovation, appeal for their practicality. “The staff ratio is a particularly relevant indicator. It’s not the same thing to have one teacher for 8 students and one for 20!” underlines Romain Paillard.
5. Find funding
A crucial and difficult step, the financial aspect constitutes the main obstacle to reconversion. How do you train for a new profession when you have a loan to repay and dependent children? “There are many tools, often complex and not always easy to use,” warns lawyer Franck Morel, author ofa study by the Institut Montaigne in 2022 on professional retraining. Besides the famous CPF, we will notably cite the Transitions pro system, which has financed more than 160,000 projects since 2020. “They do tailor-made work, and pay a substitute for remuneration during your training. It’s the Rolls-Royce of retraining,” adds Frank Morel. In addition, France Travail launched the Resignation-retraining scheme in 2019, which gives the right to unemployment benefit provided that you have been in paid employment for at least five years.
6. Create a network
Training provides the skills and legitimacy necessary for a new profession. You have to take advantage of this to cultivate your network, especially since “non-linear paths are not always well received, especially in France”, according to Ludovic de Gromard. This is why the Chance platform has set up a mutual aid system through co-optation. All the encounters you will make during the exploration phase of your future profession are contacts to maintain in order to be as successful as possible in your retraining.
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