Recruit an intern
ARE YOU RECRUITING INTERNS?
THE INTERNSHIP
Optimise your search with the essential information to bear in mind (contract, student schedules, etc.) and post your offer on our dedicated site, run in partnership with JOBTEASER. Your future intern is probably at EDC!
10 ESSENTIAL THINGS TO KNOW
Recruiting an intern takes a little organisation and knowing where to look, so that the exercise does not become tedious. Private-sector employers are subject to strict regulations on internships. Where to look, when, how... Here are 10 essential things to know to recruit tomorrow's talent into your company.
WHY RECRUIT AN INTERN?
Recruiting an intern is a real HR decision with consequences. It is not something to take lightly. It pursues a threefold objective:
- Introducing students to the world of business. The role of internship tutor takes on its full meaning here: training future generations, giving them a good image of the working world and the desire to thrive in it. The internship allows the student to acquire the professional skills linked to their training. Unlike other, more "conventional" hires, recruiting an intern carries a genuine sense of responsibility for the company.
- Securing a recruitment.
- Turning interns into genuine brand ambassadors.
Bringing an intern into the company's workforce therefore offers several significant advantages, which is a reason not to recruit just anyone.
Good to know: the general framework for internships in companies, and the employer's obligations regarding the internship agreement and the payment of an allowance, are set out in Articles L124-1 to L124-24 and D124-1 to D124-13 of the French Education Code.
WHAT ARE THE CONDITIONS FOR TAKING ON AN INTERN?
To be able to recruit an intern, the internship must form part of a training programme with a minimum of 200 hours of teaching per academic year, with at least 50 hours delivered in the student's presence.
Under no circumstances may an internship be offered for the following reasons:
- To replace an employee in the event of absence, suspension of their employment contract or dismissal.
- To carry out a regular task corresponding to a permanent position.
- To cope with a temporary increase in activity.
- To fill a seasonal job.
Good to know : internships outside the academic curriculum are prohibited.
RECRUITMENT CONDITIONS
Universities and schools are the best talent pools of students looking for an internship to validate their year. You therefore have a good chance of finding the ideal intern by knocking on the doors of institutions in your area.
Each year, the EDC Paris Business School campus welcomes several hundred students of different nationalities to train them for careers in business and management. Do not hesitate to post your offers on the School's intranet to boost your visibility among future interns.
EDC Paris Business School's Corporate Relations department regularly organises recruitment events so that companies can build a privileged relationship with students looking for an internship. You will thus have the opportunity to present your company to recent graduates.
You can also publish your internship adverts on general job boards (RégionJob or Welcome to the Jungle) or on professional social networks (LinkedIn).
If you urgently need an intern and cannot recruit quickly, do not hesitate to contact the Corporate Relations departments of schools or universities. They will guide you in your search.
Some times of year are better suited than others to recruiting an intern.
Internships generally come at the end of a term, semester or academic year. The ideal is therefore to publish your internship offer 3 months before the desired start date in the company.
An advert for recruiting an intern pursues a twofold objective:
- Saving the company time by targeting qualified applications.
- Reassuring the intern in their search. A complete and detailed internship offer gives them clear information about the assignments proposed and avoids possible disappointment.
Hence the need to polish it so that it is as detailed and attractive as possible. It must contain:
- A short, eye-catching title.
- A catchy opening sentence.
- A block presenting the company.
- A block presenting the assignments offered.
- A block listing the qualities and skills expected of the candidate.
- A block setting out the internship conditions: length, planned allowance and planned benefits.
- The location of the internship.
Do not lose sight of the fact that you are addressing a student audience. Avoid pompous jargon. The design of your recruitment advert reflects the company's DNA.
To use today's codes, why not produce a video internship offer? You will increase your chances of attracting tomorrow's talent to your company.
IS AN INTERNSHIP AGREEMENT COMPULSORY?
The internship agreement is the equivalent of an employee's employment contract.
It must specify the following:
- The purpose of the internship: the skills to be acquired.
- The length of the internship and the start and end dates.
- The assignments given.
- The full title of the intern's programme and its number of teaching hours per year or semester.
- The name of the academic supervisor.
- The name of the internship tutor.
- The conditions for authorised absence.
- The hourly rate of the allowance and the payment conditions.
- The benefits the intern may enjoy in the company: meal vouchers, reimbursement of travel costs, gym access, etc.
- The social protection scheme that covers the intern.
To recruit an intern, the intern must have an internship agreement.
Five parties must sign it:
- The intern.
- The company.
- The educational or training institution.
- The academic supervisor.
- The internship tutor.
IS THE EMPLOYER SUBJECT TO LEGAL HIRING OBLIGATIONS?
An intern is not considered an employee. They have student status. Consequently, the employer does not have to submit a prior declaration of hiring (DPAE).
The employer simply has to record, in a specific section of the single staff register, in order of arrival, the surname and first name of the interns hosted in the company.
At the end of the internship, the company must give the intern an internship certificate stating its length and the total amount of the allowance paid.
Good to know : you must observe a waiting period between 2 internships. It is equal to one third of the length of the previous internship.
WHAT IS THE MAXIMUM LENGTH OF AN INTERNSHIP?
The maximum length of an internship is 6 months at most per academic year.
A statutory calculation method is used to work out the length of the internship. It depends on the intern's actual presence on the company's premises:
- 7 hours of presence, consecutive or not = 1 day of presence.
- 22 days of presence = 1 month of presence.
- 924 hours of presence = 6 months of internship.
HOW IS THE INTERN PAID?
The pay provided for interns is called an internship allowance. Payment by the company is compulsory only if the internship lasts more than 2 consecutive months within the same year. Below 2 months, the allowance is at the employer's discretion.
The minimum amount paid for each hour of actual presence is €3.90.
The allowance is due at the end of each calendar month.
Why go for a VAE?
The VAE (validation of acquired experience) helps secure career paths and makes professional progression easier. It offers the chance to strengthen your employability, to embark on a career change, to sit a competitive examination, or to obtain a promotion by gaining a diploma that validates the skills acquired throughout your career.
Anyone, whatever their age, nationality, level of education and status, is eligible for the VAE scheme
NB: When a VAE candidate is an employee, they may take 48 hours' leave to prepare for the validation assessments. This period may be extended by collective agreement. During their leave, the VAE candidate keeps their pay and employee social protection.
How does a VAE work?
The Validation of Acquired Experience (VAE) consists of having your skills validated by the certifying body that holds the professional certification being sought, through a written file and an oral presentation before a jury. The VAE pathway includes support in highlighting your skills and, where appropriate, periods of training or work placements in a professional environment.
The main stages:
- Choosing the certification
- Contacting the certifying body
- Submitting the eligibility file
- Approval or refusal by the certifying body
- Support in writing Booklet 2
- Submitting Booklet 2
- Appearing before the VAE jury
What are the conditions for access to a VAE?
The law recognises a universal right to VAE, with no minimum length of experience. All experience is taken into account as part of a validation of acquired experience process (Article L6412-1-1 of the French Labour Code):
- Professional experience, whether salaried, self-employed, voluntary or volunteering
- Internship periods
- Periods of initial training
- Periods of continuing training
- Periods in a professional setting (as part of a course leading to a technological or vocational diploma)
- Periods of professional immersion (as part of a career change or taking up a new post)
How can you fund a VAE?
- CPF : the VAE can be covered by your CPF account, and all funding requests are to be made on www.moncompteactivite.gouv.fr
- Employer : your employer may also contribute in whole or in part to funding your project, through the company's skills development plan.
- Association Transition Pro: in the context of a career change, costs may be covered on a flat-rate basis up to a limit of €3,000 for the assessment, support in putting together eligibility files and preparation for the VAE jury, as well as the costs of those juries.
- Pôle emploi, OPCO and FAF: depending on your status, whether jobseeker, employee or self-employed, you may benefit from public and pooled vocational training funds to finance your VAE.
- Agefiph and Cap emploi: funding schemes are also available to people with disabilities, whether in work or looking for a job.
