Monday June 17, 2nd general and technological students began their business observation internships for a period of two weeks. In Saint-Dizier, the offer is limited, especially in the most popular areas. Many students therefore made a choice out of spite.
No more early departures on vacation. Since June 17, 2nd grade students have had to complete two weeks of internship in a company, following a decision taken by Gabriel Attal, then Minister of National Education, at the end of 2023. But now, in Saint-Dizier, there is a shortage of places, especially in the sectors most popular with students (law or health in particular). “I called all the law firms, but no one takes, because law students are privileged,” laments Sofia, a student at Saint-Exupéry high school. Willy-nilly, she found herself in the Bragard local court.
The same goes for her classmate Hâjar, who wanted to do an internship with a notary, but ended up in a primary school due to lack of space. Still at the Saint-Exupéry high school, Diego and Basile, without an internship, are in a real bind: at the last minute, another intern was chosen over them. Cédric Chotard, the school’s principal, is aware of the problem, since the high school students in the vocational stream are doing immersion on the same dates: “Mechanically, we have already overloaded the local breeding ground.”
“It’s longer than physics lessons!” »
For those without an internship, high schools are taking the lead in finding one. At Blaise-Pascal, “the business office was mobilized” to facilitate contact with interns, says Catherine Kos, principal. “We called my parents and they gave me an internship,” says Khadidja, doing an internship in a Bragard hotel, a little bitter. She whispers, “I haven’t learned anything except folding napkins and putting away cups.” » Hâjar also laments: “I sit on a chair for 6 hours, […] it’s longer than physics lessons. »
The 2nd year internship has still not been digested by certain students who have difficulty seeing the benefit of the system. “The goal is not even to introduce us to a profession, but to not leave us on vacation,” grumbles Hâjar. Even among teachers, this internship is subject to criticism. “It was done in a hurry, many students took it in stride,” analyzes Agathe Papini, history and geography teacher at Saint-Exupéry high school.
Eleven students do not have an internship
Criticized, the system has still been successful: of the more than 300 2nd year students at Saint-Dizier, only eleven find themselves without an internship. “The high school is used to sending professional track students on internships, as well as BTS students,” explains Rose-Anna Van Speybroeck, Spanish teacher at Saint-Exupéry high school. Each establishment also tries to promote the two weeks of discovery in the company: an oral presentation allowing training for the baccalaureate at Blaise-Pascal and at Estic (accompanied here by a job sheet of a few lines to be written ), an exchange with teachers during the first week of July in Saint-Exupéry…
Furthermore, some trainees flourish completely, like Melike who works at the Albert-Camus nursery school. “It allowed me to know that I want to work with children,” she smiles. Even Sofia, although not keen on the idea of working at the local court, has completely reversed her preconceptions, and says she is “happy with our internship”. “The 2nd year is the last where we have all this latitude, […] it’s better to be taken care of than to be on the street, or on your couch playing video games during exams,” punctuates Cédric Chotard. As a reminder, the 2nd grade school year only ends on July 5. Clearly, June does not rhyme with vacation!
Sirine Amrane
Lots of young people, lots of solutions
The 1jeune1solution platform, created in 2020, has been offering internship offers since this year to help high school students find their 2nd year internship, by applying with a cover letter. But the proposals are not very varied with a total of thirteen offers in Saint-Dizier, ten of which focus solely on teaching. However, high school students can always contact companies with their cover letter and their agreement. Others have decided to move towards the SNU (Universal National Service) which is offered on these same dates.
For those without a solution, the Saint-Exupéry high school welcomes students who are seven in total and offers them the opportunity to discover new professions, particularly in the Saint-Dizier sector such as craft professions, thanks to the help of the office companies with Laura Boucansaud its manager. The students are quite satisfied with this system. A student, who joined the system after leaving her internship midway, confided to us: “I learned more in 2 hours than in a week and a half of internship. »
