Is the trend towards optimism for crafts in Lot-et-Garonne?
The sector is rather in balance, with many self-employed people who have set up shop. Today, we are stable, around 10,000 companies in Lot-et-Garonne, which represents around 30,000 jobs. We could do more by becoming more consistent with businesses, but the Chamber of Trades is precisely well placed in the employment and training market. Links have also strengthened with the EPCI (public intermunicipal cooperation establishments), which are partners.
Have we turned the page on post-Covid and increases in the costs of energy and raw materials?
This evening of November 7 is precisely made to turn the page, to highlight the artisans, it is their celebration. We cannot say that these problems are over, it is hard for everyone, and the costs of raw materials have not been digested. But the artisans have in their hands the strength to react, to get out of the rut, they know how to fight. Above all, we need to give ourselves back visibility, while standards and names change every six months. We reshuffle the cards with each change of government. As for support for learning, we are in the process of voting on it: we do not know if the aid and charges will change.
Do we still underestimate the importance of craftsmanship?
People are always very surprised by the number of artisans based in their territory. They think that it is natural for there to be a baker, a hairdresser or a craftsman in their town, without knowing that the Chamber has done this to help them settle in: we do not realize our involvement, of our work in depth. We help make the hearts of villages beat. As for apprenticeship, we are reaching the goal by approaching 1,000 students here, with 80 to 85% who, upon leaving, find work. It is training, but also a future, with apprentices taking over the companies where they were trained, which is also a return for the company manager.
Are there still sectors in tension?
The sixteen sections of our training center are full, even the hotel and catering industry. But companies in all sectors are having difficulty recruiting, there is no profession that is not in tension, while there are 25,000 unemployed people in the department.
Where is the CFA’s work?
