| Training: major unknown for the new French public service for employment | | Print | |
| Renée David Aeschlimann | 19.10.2008 | National Affairs - News items [en] [fr] | ||||
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On the 16th October, the new French public service for employment, “Pôle emploi”, was unveiled to the citizens of France. “Pôle emploi” is the product of a merging of the ANPE (National Employment Agency) and the UNEDIC (unemployment benefits agency). The former being in charge of assisting the unemployed, the latter in charge of jobseeker’s allowance. Its main purpose: to act as a single reference point for the two main public services for the unemployed. The role of training in this newly-merged service remains largely unknown.
As is happening elsewhere in Europe, the French public service for employment is undergoing restructuring to improve efficiency and to reduce public spending. After several months of negociating with unions, a new law and many protests, the two branches: the ANPE (National Employment Agency) and the UNEDIC (unemployment benefits agency), have merged to offer assistance and financial support for jobseekers, so that united, they can offer a greater chance to regain employment as quickly as possible. Previously, unemployed people had to register at the ANPE to look for work, then again at the Assedic (local branches of the UNEDIC) to receive jobseeker’s allowance. This merging of the UNEDIC and the ANPE has led to the founding of the « pôle emploi » on the 16th October, which in time will offer new channels of jobseeking assistance for job applicants and unified financial aid. Laurent Wauquiez, the French Employment Minister, declared: “From 1st January 2009 no more time and efficiency will be lost through duplicate administration". "Where once there were two advisors, there will now be one single reference point”. This change will mean further training for the thousands of ANPE and Assedic agents who are to become this “unique reference point”. Another unknown is the role that training will play in assisting jobseekers in finding work. For the moment, only 10% of those claiming jobseeker’s allowance have access to training which is paid for by the Assedic, and in general the courses are short and only based around the sectors and professions most lacking manpower (construction, retail and hospitality). The budget allocated to such training should be decided in the next few days, as the new convention on unemployment benefits is currently under negotiation. However, in the current climate, training is hardly likely to take a precedent in assisting the unemployed. One indication : it is in exremis that a deputy of the Assemblée nationale should vote in an amendment of the law of the 2nd August 2008 on “the rights and obligations of jobseekers”, which authorises jobseekers to continue to claim jobseeker’s allowance while in formal training and therefore unavailable to start work immediately. |
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