Minimum cost of labour¹ Employment in wholesale and retail trade¹ Employment in accommodation and food service activities Number of apprentices with a low level of education¹

ASSESSMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS OECD ECONOMIC SURVEYS: FRANCE © OECD 2017 40 The government has rightly aimed at promoting apprenticeships, as they have proven successful in providing students with skills that help them find a job. Yet, for lower levels of qualification, where they are needed most, their numbers have fallen, even if a slight increase has been observed recently, in particular following the implementation of measures targeting minors on apprenticeships in very small businesses Figure 29, Panel A. In general, they offer much better employment prospects to graduates than school-based vocational education in lycées professionnels, which have less emphasis on work practice in firms and Figure 27. The minimum wage is high, 2015 1. The cost of labour is the sum of the wage and the corresponding social security contributions paid by employers. 2. Excluding the Competitiveness and Employment Tax Credit CICE in France Source: OECD 2017, OECD Earnings Database; OECD 2017, Economic Policy Reforms 2017: Going for Growth, OECD Publishing, Paris. 1 2 http:dx.doi.org10.1787888933577762 Figure 28. Despite recent cuts in labour costs, employment in low-wage services sectors is relatively modest Average 2012-15 1. Including repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles. Source: OECD 2017, OECD National Accounts Database. 1 2 http:dx.doi.org10.1787888933577781 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 USA ESP MEX CZE JPN EST IRL CAN NLD SVK GRC DEU KOR GBR BEL OECD POL LVA HUN AUS LUX PRT ISR NZL SVN FRA CHL TUR

A. Minimum-to-median wage ratio

Per cent 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 USA ESP CZE JPN EST MEX IRL SVK CAN NLD BEL GBR GRC DEU KOR FRA OECD POL LVA HUN AUS LUX PRT ISR NZL SVN CHL TUR

B. Minimum cost of labour¹

Per cent of labour cost of median worker² 2 4 6 8 10 12 ITA FRA ESP USA DEU GBR

A. Employment in wholesale and retail trade¹

Per cent of working-age population 1 2 3 4 5 6 ITA FRA DEU ESP GBR USA

B. Employment in accommodation and food service activities

Per cent of working-age population ASSESSMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS OECD ECONOMIC SURVEYS: FRANCE © OECD 2017 41 where two-thirds of students are enrolled OECD, 2015b. Employment rates of vocational education graduates in OECD countries that put a lot of emphasis on work practice, such as Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands, are particularly high. Hence, the challenge for France is to integrate more work-based training in its vocational schools, which involves businesses making an effort to take on young people as apprentices. The various apprenticeship subsidies should be streamlined and concentrated at the secondary level. The most successful of the many programmes preparing struggling youngsters for apprenticeships should be rolled out more widely OECD, 2015b. It would also be useful to build on ongoing efforts to improve the training of teachers in vocational education and workplace trainers Table 7. Figure 29. Access to apprenticeships and job-search assistance should improve 1. Refers to ISCED 3C qualifications: Certificat d’aptitude professionnelle CAP, Brevet d’études professionnelles BEP and mention complémentaire. 2. Caseloads are calculated by dividing the number of jobseekers by PES’ total staff. The figure compares PES institutions that are also responsible for Unemployment Benefits UB. Source: Ministry of National Education, DEPP; European Commission 2016, Assessment Report on PES Capacity. 1 2 http:dx.doi.org10.1787888933577458 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 50 100 150 200 250 300

A. Number of apprentices with a low level of education¹

At year-end, thousands 50 100 150 200 250 GBR ISL CZE LUX DEU EST FRA AUT SVN NLD GRC ESP 596

B. Caseloads of Public Employment Services²