Work-study

Published: 26/03/2024 | Updated: 07/11/2026

12 essential facts about work-study

Do you want to give yourself the best chance of entering the world of work? Have you thought about work-study!?

It is now the best route for anyone who wants to make the most of what they have learned during their studies in a professional setting, and to find a job more quickly! Before you take the plunge, it is important to understand the ins and outs of work-study.

L'alternance à l'EDC Paris Business School

Discover 12 essential facts to convince you to take the plunge without ever regretting it.

Work-study is a method of training that alternates periods of theoretical learning with practical application.

It allows you to acquire:

The fundamentals in a training organisation or an apprentice training centre (Centre de Formation des Apprentis, CFA).
Practical know-how in a company.

2 legal schemes co-exist:

Apprenticeship. It trains apprentices in initial education.
The professionalisation contract. It trains employees in continuing education.

Good to know: Promotion or retraining through work-study (Pro-A) is another scheme aimed at employees on permanent contracts who are retraining.

The aim of a work-study contract is clear:

To train young people to help them enter the job market.
To reintegrate jobseekers to help them find work.

To achieve this goal, work-study leads to:

A vocational degree or qualification registered in the national directory of professional certifications (RNCP).
A qualification under a national sector-wide collective agreement.
A sector-wide or cross-sector professional qualification certificate.

All levels of certification can be prepared: CEP, professional certificate, vocational baccalaureate, BTS, DUT, Master, Bachelor, Mastère…

Good to know: if you fail the exam, you can retake it the following year. The work-study contract can be extended by one year.

Almost every career and every sector of activity is now accessible through apprenticeships.

Developer, social media manager, business developer, digital project manager, product manager, digital communications officer… There is bound to be a work-study opportunity that leads to your dream career.

Find out more!

The people eligible for work-study differ depending on whether an apprenticeship contract or a professionalisation contract is involved.

Apprenticeship contract	Professionalisation contract
Young people aged 16 to 29 inclusive	Young people aged 16 to 25 inclusive
15 if: The age is reached between the start of the school year and 31 December of the calendar year The final year of lower secondary school (3e) has been completed.	Jobseekers aged 26 and over, where professionalisation is needed to help them return to employment
Up to 35 if: The apprentice signs a new contract to gain a higher level of qualification than the one already obtained. The apprentice’s previous contract was terminated for reasons beyond their control. The previous contract was terminated because of temporary physical incapacity.	Recipients of the active solidarity income (RSA)
Apprentices recognised as disabled workers	Recipients of the specific solidarity allowance (ASS).
Apprentices planning to set up or take over a business that requires a qualification	Recipients of the disabled adults’ allowance (AAH)
Apprentices registered as elite athletes	People who have had a single integration contract (CUI)
Apprentices who did not obtain their qualification and sign a new contract with another employer in order to retake the exam

Work-study training is provided by various parties depending on the work-study scheme chosen.

Theoretical teaching in work-study

Training is provided by:

A CFA for apprenticeships. It must last a minimum of 25% of the total duration of the contract.
The company, if it has a training department, or a public or private training organisation for the professionalisation contract. A minimum of 150 hours of training is provided. This represents between 15% and 25% of the total duration of the professionalisation contract. In certain strictly defined cases, it may exceed 25%.

Practical training

All private-sector companies can take on work-study students, whether apprentices or employees on professionalisation contracts.

The public sector also takes on apprentices.

However, only public industrial and commercial establishments (EPICs) can take on employees on professionalisation contracts. This scheme is not open to the State, local authorities and their groupings, or public establishments not subject to vocational training funding.

It undertakes to provide the employee with practical training (and sometimes theoretical training) enabling them to work towards a professional qualification, and to provide them with a job related to that objective.

The job held by the employee must allow them to acquire practical know-how that complements their theoretical training. It must therefore be related to the qualification targeted in the signed contract.

A tutor (professionalisation contract) or an apprenticeship supervisor (apprenticeship) must be appointed by the employer to welcome and guide professionalisation contract holders or apprentices within the company.

Both the apprenticeship contract and the professionalisation contract are written.

It may be a fixed-term contract (CDD), covering the whole duration of the training until the qualification is obtained. For apprenticeships, this is called a limited-term contract (CDL).

Or a permanent contract (CDI). In the latter case, once the training is complete, the contract automatically becomes a CDI.

Good to know: the contract is in principle signed on a full-time basis. However, holders of disabled worker status (RQTH) and elite athletes can sign it on a part-time basis.

The duration of the work-study contract is equal to the length of the training cycle, which can vary from one targeted job to another.

It also changes depending on the type of contract signed:

A CDL under an apprenticeship contract: between 6 and 36 months (4 years if the apprentice is recognised as a disabled worker).
A CDD: between 6 and 12 months. 36 months in certain strictly defined cases.
A CDI: the professionalisation or apprenticeship period lasts between 6 and 12 months, and takes place at the start of the contract.

Good to know: for a CDL or a CDD, the duration of the contract is specified in an agreement annexed to it.

The answer is simple: the same as the employees of the company that hosts you.

So, as an apprentice or an employee on a professionalisation contract, you are entitled to:

The same paid leave.
The supplementary insurance scheme.
Meal vouchers, if they exist.

As well as all the benefits provided for by collective agreements or current practice in the company: bonuses, bridge days…

As for working hours, they are also the same as those for other colleagues. The statutory length of actual working time is set at 35 hours per week.

Please note: work-study students aged 18 or over may work overtime. Minors are limited to 5 hours, subject to the agreement of the labour inspector and the occupational health service.

Good to know: your training time is considered to be actual working time. It counts towards your working hours.

The great strength of work-study is that it covers your training costs. You have nothing to pay.

So who pays for your training?

It is the OPCOs (skills operators), in full or in part. There are 11 of them in France. No later than 5 working days after the start of the work-study period, the host company sends the contract it has signed with you to its OPCO. The OPCO then has 20 days to decide on the financial coverage of your apprenticeship:

If it refuses, because the training is ineligible or the legal conditions, such as the apprentice’s age or the minimum pay, have not been met, you will not be able to carry out the contract.
If it agrees to fund it in part, the remaining balance must be paid by the company that hosts you.
If it agrees to fund it in full, it pays the cost of the training directly to the CFA or to the training organisation of your choice.

In all cases, no financial contribution may be requested from the work-study student.

Good to know: each company is attached to an OPCO if it has duly paid its vocational training contributions and the apprenticeship tax.

Another undeniable advantage of work-study is that you are paid by your host company for the whole duration of your training.

Pay varies according to your age and your level of study, and also the work-study scheme chosen.

Situation	16 – 17 years	18 – 20 years	21 – 25 years	26 years and over
1st year	27% of the Smic, i.e. €477.07	43% of the Smic, i.e. €759.77	The higher of 53% of the Smic, i.e. €936.47, and 53% of the collectively agreed minimum wage for the job held during the apprenticeship contract.	100% of the Smic The higher of the Smic (the French national minimum wage, €1,766.92) and the collectively agreed minimum wage for the job held during the apprenticeship contract.
2nd year	39% of the Smic, i.e. €689.10	51% of the Smic, i.e. €901.13	The higher of 61% of the Smic, i.e. €1,077.82, and 61% of the collectively agreed minimum wage for the job held during the apprenticeship contract.	100% of the Smic The higher of the Smic (the French national minimum wage, €1,766.92) and the collectively agreed minimum wage for the job held during the apprenticeship contract.
3rd year	55% of the Smic, i.e. €971.80	67% of the Smic, i.e. €1,183.83	The higher of 78% of the Smic, i.e. €1,378.20, and 78% of the collectively agreed minimum wage for the job held during the apprenticeship contract.	100% of the Smic The higher of the Smic (the French national minimum wage, €1,766.92) and the collectively agreed minimum wage for the job held during the apprenticeship contract.

(source: public service website, table updated on 1 January 2024)

Level of training or qualification before the professionalisation contract

Age	Non-vocational level IV qualification or vocational qualification below the baccalaureate	Vocational qualification at or above the baccalaureate, or higher education degree
Under 21	At least 55% of the Smic	At least 65% of the Smic
21 – 25 inclusive	At least 70% of the Smic	At least 80% of the Smic
26 and over	At least the Smic or 85% of the sector-wide collectively agreed minimum wage if more favourable	At least the Smic or 85% of the sector-wide collectively agreed minimum wage if more favourable

(source: alternance.emploi.gouv.fr website, table updated on 14 February 2023)

Better than a long explanation, and to help you with your training choices, here is a table summarising the main differences between the apprenticeship contract and the professionalisation contract.

	Apprenticeship contract	Professionalisation contract
Training framework	Initial education From 16 to 29 inclusive. Up to 35 if: The apprentice signs a new contract to gain a higher level of qualification than the one already obtained. The apprentice’s previous contract was terminated for reasons beyond their control. The previous contract was terminated because of temporary physical incapacity.	Continuing education
Age of the work-study student	From 15 if: The age is reached between the start of the school year and 31 December of the calendar year. The young person has completed the final year of lower secondary school (3e). No age limit if: The apprentice is recognised as a disabled worker. The apprentice is setting up or taking over a business that requires a qualification. The apprentice is registered as an elite athlete. The apprentice did not obtain their qualification and signs a new contract with another employer in order to retake the exam.	From 16 to 25 inclusive for young people who wish to complete their initial education. From 26 for jobseekers. No age condition for recipients of the RSA, ASS or AAH and for people leaving a CUI.
Type of work-study contract	Limited-term contract (CDL). Permanent contract (CDI). For a CDL: From 6 months to 3 years at most.	Fixed-term contract (CDD). Permanent contract (CDI). For a CDD: From 6 to 12 months. Up to 36 months in certain situations.
Duration of the work-study contract	4 years when the apprentice is a disabled worker. For a CDI, the apprenticeship lasts between 6 and 12 months, and takes place at the start of the contract.	For a CDI, the professionalisation period lasts between 6 and 12 months, and takes place at the start of the contract.
Training time	A minimum of 25% of the total duration of the contract.	A minimum of 150 hours, and between 15% and 25% of the total duration of the contract.
Pay	Between 27% and 100% of the Smic.	Between 55% and 100% of the Smic. 85% of the minimum pay set by the company’s collective agreement or sector agreement if more favourable.