Apprenticeships: aid to companies extended until the end of 2022

The aid granted to employers who recruit work-study students (apprentices and young people on professionalisation contracts) will be extended for contracts concluded until the end of 2022. This was announced in a press release from the Ministry of Labour published on 24 May 2022. These measures follow on from the "1 young person, 1 solution" plan and are part of the "France Relance" scheme. They aim to facilitate the entry into working life of young people particularly affected by the consequences of the health crisis.

In a press release dated 24 May 2022, the Minister of Labour, Full Employment and Integration announced that apprenticeship aid and exceptional aid for professionalisation contracts will be extended until the end of 2022. The terms of this new extension will be specified in the coming weeks by regulatory texts.

The exceptional aid is €5,000 for the recruitment of a student on an apprenticeship or professionalisation contract who is under 18 and €8,000 if the student is over 18 and under 30 and is preparing a diploma, professional title or qualification certificate up to Master's level (bac +5). This amount applies from the first day of the month following their 18th birthday.

Recruitment aid: current conditions in force

Which contracts are concerned?

• Apprenticeship contracts and professionalisation contracts concluded between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2022 to prepare for a diploma or title up to level 7 of the national framework of professional qualifications (master's degree, engineering degree, etc.).
• The professionalisation contracts must be concluded with employees under 30 years of age. These contracts can also be professional qualification certificates (CQP) or experimental professionalisation contracts.

For which companies and under which conditions?

This flat-rate aid is aimed at all companies and associations.

• For companies with fewer than 250 employees, this aid is paid without condition. During the first year of the contract, it replaces the one-off aid for eligible companies.
• Companies with 250 employees or more can benefit from the aid if they meet one of the following two conditions:
  Attain at least 5% of work integration contracts:
  - by 31 December 2021 for contracts concluded between 1 July and 31 March 2021;
  - 31 December 2022 for contracts concluded between 1 April and 31 December 2021;
  - 31 December 2023 for contracts concluded between 1 January and 30 June 2022.
• Reach at least 3% of alternating work-study students (apprenticeship or professionalisation contracts) and have experienced a 10% increase in alternating work-study students:
  - by 31 December 2021 for apprenticeship contracts concluded between 1 July and 31 March 2021;
  - 31 December 2022 for apprenticeship contracts concluded between 1 April and 31 December 2021;
  - 31 December 2023 for contracts concluded between 1 January and 30 June 2022.

If these targets are not met, the sums received will have to be repaid.

It is paid monthly, before the apprentice's salary is paid, during the first year of the apprenticeship contract or professionalisation contract.

Please note: regulatory texts will soon specify the terms and conditions of this extension beyond 30 June 2022 and, in particular, the dates for the conclusion of contracts.

Please note: at the end of the first year of the contract, companies eligible for the one-off grant will be able to benefit from this aid until the end of the apprenticeship or professionalisation contract.

Important: for companies, the aid covers 100% of the salary of an apprentice under the age of 21, 80% of the salary of an apprentice aged between 21 and 25, and almost 45% of the salary of an apprentice aged 26 and over.

Source : Sercice-Public.fr