The Vocational Integration of Students-Apprentices in the Context of a Pandemic Crisis: Feedback from the University CFA in Corsica

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated major economic impacts in the vast majority of countries, including falling GDP and global trade, massive job losses, deficits and increased public debt. If quasi-generalized interventionist economic policies have made it possible to cushion the paralysis of the productive devices, the short-term global outlook remains very uncertain. In this gloomy context, what will be the situation on the labour market, and in particular the vocational integration of students? Corsica presents the example of a small island territory in search of a regional development scheme based on the economy of knowledge and competence. In this major structural perspective, the University Apprenticeship Training Centre (CFA UNIV) in the Corsican region has been striving, for a decade, to contribute to the enhancement of students-apprentices vocational integration from the University of Corsica. Within the scope of its activities, are the monitoring and evaluation of the students-apprentices’ professional integration from the University of Corsica. Since 2011, the carrying out the annual surveys on students-apprentices’ future from the University of Corsica has demonstrated the capacity of the sandwich course training in Higher Education simultaneously to boost the employability of skilled human capital and the growth of local business structuring. This contribution will aim to synthesize ten years of CFA UNIV experience and will endeavour to analyse the localized consequences of a global pandemic crisis on the nature of the vocational integration student-apprentices from the University of Corsica in a small territory island.