the essential
In search of higher education, young Gers residents tend to desert the region. After their diploma, they opt for a career far from the borders of the department, and do not return until they are 30 years old. A real challenge for Gascony. Reporting.
“The Gers I was born there, the Gers saw me grow up.” Romain is one of the many young adults who had to leave the department in order to pursue their studies. One thing led to another, after obtaining his diplomas, he moved far from the department.
Uninterested in the general circuit, Romain opted, then aged 16, for the CAP maintenance technician on public works machinery. He validated his diploma, which he was able to complete in the Gers commune of Pavie, in July 2010. He then completed his professional baccalaureate in the same sector, at the same place.
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But when he obtained it in July 2012, he was forced to move to the Toulouse region, in order to be closer to his place of work. “What happens is that young people would like to stay in the department, but as there is little higher education, there are no universities for example, they leave to study, then do their careers and return to the department when they are older”, underlines Hélène Poliart, director of France Travail in Gers.
“In the department, there are much fewer training offers”
Many of them, in Romain's case, have had to cross the borders of the department to continue their studies. According to Hélène Poliart, the issue does not arise at the level of employment – “we have jobs that are more easily available than elsewhere, even for qualified jobs” – but at the level of the training offer. in higher education. “In the department, there are much fewer training offers, in fact young people wanting to study leave and return much later, at 30 or 40 years old,” adds Georges Martin, director of the local mission of Gers.
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This is indeed the case for Romain, who, after 30 years, would like to return to the region. “I come back almost every weekend to visit my family and it is always with a certain sadness in my heart that I have to return to my adoption department.”
For France Travail, the attractiveness of the department also falls short in terms of remuneration. “We have more attractive salaries offered outside the Gers. There are 14.8% of our registered young people under the age of 25 who, every month, find a job, so it is not for lack of the fact that there are no jobs.”
Mobility in question
The department's local mission opened its doors in 2024, with figures not yet stabilized, at “3,000 young people in contact, including 2,100 supported”. Of the latter, “17% are minors, 51% are between 18 and 21 years old, and 32% are 22 years old and over. And in terms of levels, 43% of the young people supported have a Baccalaureate level or above, and 57% who have a level below the Baccalaureate.”
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More generally on the territory, 73% of young people have a diploma level equivalent to or below the baccalaureate or no diploma. Thus, those who remain in the territory are indeed those who did not have to leave in order to continue their studies. According to the director of the local mission in Gers, this departure of young people is also caused by mobility.
“Of the 2,100 young people we support, only 34% have a driving license. And having a license does not imply having a vehicle, with those who have one we fall to 28%. Mobility and not having a means of transport therefore have a strong impact on employment.” And by extension, the number of young people who remain in the region.
