JGDE. Can you introduce us to AFPA Bretagne and its infrastructure?
Stéphanie GICQUEL-BUI. AFPA, the National Agency for Adult Vocational Training, is today the first vocational training organisation serving public policies and regional economies. The AFPA is a member of the public employment service, especially since January 1, 2017, it left its associative status to become a public institution of an industrial and commercial (EPIC) nature.
Within the public employment service, AFPA plays a key role in supporting economic change by contributing to the orientation and qualification of employment seekers and employees to enable them to access jobs in the territories. The AFPA is particularly committed to serving the most remote seekers from employment possibilities.
Today, the AFPA in Bretagne is just over 480 employees, including 300 trainers, who work in the 9 training centers: Rennes, Saint-Malo, Langueux, Loudéac, Morlaix, Brest, Quimper, Lorient and Auray.
These Centers all offer accommodation and catering facilities for trainees in vocational training, thus facilitating the success of each course.
JGDE. How does the AFPA accompany the community in its missions and development and what are your assets to do so?
SGB. The AFPA is the public vocational training body in the service of public policies and economical development.
In Bretagne, the AFPA’s close collaboration with the Bretagne region allows training to be tailored to the needs of people, in line with the qualifications expected by companies. The mission of the AFPA is to accompany every person it hosts towards a rapid and sustainable integration into employment, responding to the needs of the elected representatives for a balanced development of the Breton countries.
The AFPA’s territorial anchorage, with its 9 training centers, is an essential factor in the success of people, as the proximity of the training center with companies and the social and economic players in its territory a real asset for accompanying effective pathways.
As the main training provider in the Bretagne region, AFPA also works closely with economic players in the region by contributing to the emergence of new professions and new skills, in conjunction with professional sectors and companies. The Bretagne Region is setting up various mechanisms to innovate and to experiment with new training programs.
For example, the Afpa Center in Auray, a national strategic center for boating and maritime activities, is active in Bretagne for the development of maritime employment and contributes to blue growth. It is both a space for training, but also for experimentation and engineering for the development of maritime skills.
Similarly, the Afpa supports the development of «very high-speed» participation regarding the service of the Breton economy in the training of employees of companies that deploy fiber optics in Bretagne.
The Afpa Center in Rennes, a leader in the specialty of communication networks, has developed together with companies involved in the deployment of fiber optics in Bretagne (MEGALIS program), engineering and training adapted to the needs of companies.
With the financial support of the Bretagne Region, Pôle Emploi (unemployment division) and OPCA (Constructys and FAFTT), Afpa has set up a mobile training system to train communication networks in the vicinity of construction sites and people (Lorient, Brest, Morlaix, etc.
Some key figures
In 2016, the Afpa welcomed 11,295 trainees in Bretagne, including 6,260 job seekers
- 5,035 employees
- 1,769 youth
- 3,762 seniors
- 3,614 women
85% obtained the qualification referred to 73% of trainees found a job within 6 months of completing their training
