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– Senior asset: which profiles have joined the system?
“The senior waiting to retire is an absolute myth», Warns Dominique Largaud, Ile-de-France regional delegate of the Association for the Employment of Executives (Apec). This Thursday, January 23, the Labor and Professional Mobility Fair opened in Paris. The opportunity to talk about employment, recruitment… and the over 50s. Indeed, for this category, the figures are not good. According to a study carried out in 2023 by Dares – a statistical body attached to the Ministry of Labor -, in France, only 58.4% of those over 50 are employed. A percentage well below the European average which stands at 63.9%. According to Apec, the unemployment rate for executives over 55 is around 6.8%, much higher than that of younger executives.
In September 2024, Ifocop and France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi) therefore react and jointly launch an innovative program: Senior Asset. The objective is simple: to enable job seekers aged at least under 50 to retrain quickly. Similar to how work-study programs work for younger people, the system is based on the “4+4” model: four months of theoretical training and the following four in a company. As for the financing, it is broken down as follows: 75% financed by the company and 25% by the CPF of the worker. So five months after the experiment, what conclusions can we draw from Atout senior?
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-Senior asset: three training courses favored by candidates
According to the results communicated by Ifocop and France Travail, 250 participants have registered with Atout senior since last September, including 70% women and 30% men. Among these “apprentices”, 49% are between 50 and 54 years old and 51% are over 55 years old. Of the 22 training courses offered, three stand out from the rest and are the most requested: training on payroll management (13%), accounting (13%) then that of human resources assistant (12%).
For candidates, the main obstacle is finding the host company. Once the training has been chosen, collective and individual workshops are set up “to enable seniors to regain their confidence and equip themselves with all the skills necessary to find a job», explains Bertrand Lamour, president of Ifocop. On the menu in particular, the use of LinkedIn and the use of artificial intelligence. Further proof, if any were needed, that AI is gaining ground in all areas of business. Among those registered with the system, all diploma levels are represented.
Bertrand Lamour, the president of Iifocop, hopes for an increase in the strength of the system with a total of 1,000 registered from October 2025. At the end of the training offered, the objective is to achieve an integration rate in the employment of 80%. If the results are conclusive, the system will cross the borders of Ile-de-France to open up to other regions from 2026.
