Despite the current health situation and economic climate, it's been a great start to the 2020 academic year as far as work-study is concerned, with Excelia's Apprenticeship Training Centre (CFA - Centre de formation d'apprentis), which opened in April 2020 during the first lockdown period, achieving its initial ambitions and projected development.

A wave of optimism is sweeping across the work-study initiative, an approach which combines theory-based education in a formal training centre with practical experience in the workplace, with an increase in student numbers of more than 80% compared to the start of the 2019 academic year.

As a result of government efforts to promote vocational training, the creation of Excelia's CFA means that 100% of our programmes are now accessible via an apprenticeship contract, over 12 or 24 months, from undergraduate to post-graduate level, on our campuses in La Rochelle and Tours, as well as on our off-site study location in Niort:

• Bachelor in Business
• BBA International
• Bachelor in Communications & Digital Strategies
• Bachelor in Tourism & Hospitality
• Master in Management
• Master of Science etc.

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The word has clearly spread, as Excelia's CFA now boasts some 1,030 learners, including 870 apprentices, a result that clearly surpasses the objectives set for this academic year.

As the perfect gateway to employment,

Committing to a work-study track not only enables learners to have their studies paid for by their employer, but also offers them the opportunity to experience a profession first hand and to benefit from the status of "employee", thereby enjoying autonomy, a salary and responsibilities.

The subsidies put in place by the Government, along with the confidence in and recognition of our programmes by our partner companies, have boosted recruitment, with our students being hosted in more than 650 companies. In addition, the stimulus package, #1jeune1solution, has enabled the CFA to welcome apprentices without a contract, allowing them six months to secure a host employer.

Students looking to embark on a work-study contract benefit from a range of support tools such as:

• virtual job dating,
• work-study opportunities posted on JobTeaser,
• workshops on research methodology,
• workshops on CVs,
• workshops on cover letters,
• workshops on how to fully exploit the networks
• individual coaching upon request

All this, clear evidence of a wave of optimism, a powerful wave...