Education and Training Monitor 2023

1. The teaching profession

The procedures for selecting teachers currently do not ensure a reliable supply of qualified teachers in all subjects and regions. Despite several reforms in recent decades, the number of applicants for teacher entry exams is falling. The applicant-to-job ratio (taux de candidature) fell in the last 15 years in public education. In 2008, there were 7.8 candidates per job in secondary education. Since 2011, there have been only around 4.5-5 applicants per job. However, in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), and in certain regions, this rate can be much lower, leading to a shortage of applicants for the number of vacancies available. A downward trend is also noticeable for primary schools (4.2 in 2008 vs 3.4 in 2021) (DEPP, 2022a). According to the French Court of Auditors, each year between 2017 and 2021, around 1 100 posts were left unfilled following teacher entry exams (Cour des Comptes, 2023b). The Court also observed that the low number of applicants taking exams in STEM subjects and foreign languages coupled with the high success rates for the entry exams casts doubts on the quality of the recruitment process. Shortages are especially acute in certain areas around the capital and in some overseas territories. In primary public education, success rates for teacher exams are higher in areas with teacher shortages (DEPP, 2022a). While forecasts on retirement rates and pupils’ demographics exist, a long-term forecasting tool is not in place.

Teachers mention low salaries, working conditions and perceived low prestige as the main difficulties in their jobs. According to the 2022 national survey on well-being at work, teachers are on average less satisfied with their jobs than other French professionals. Teachers were also particularly dissatisfied with their career development opportunities and salaries. Half of them reported a high level of exhaustion related to work (DEPP, 2022e). Teachers gave only 2.5 out of 10 points when asked about the perceived prestige of their job. Teachers’ working time is heavily concentrated on teaching hours, leaving less time for teamwork and coordination tasks (see Figure 1). This creates a risk of overburden and a feeling of isolation. Teachers' salaries are below the salaries of other tertiary educated employees at all levels of education (26% lower in primary, 17% in lower secondary and 8% in upper secondary vs EU-25 14%/11%/6%).Salaries, however, do increase significantly over time (about +65% at the top of the salary range) (OECD, 2023; European Commission/EACEA, 2023)¹.

Figure 1: Collaboration among teachers, 2018

In 2023, various allowances increased, leading to higher salaries for teachers.Part of the pay rise (le socle) benefits all teaching staff (amounting to around +10% on average). The other part (le pacte) requires teaching staff to take on additional tasks, such as supporting pupils with difficulties, replacing teachers or carrying out innovative projects. However, the capacity to take on additional tasks varies. In the past, in secondary education, more men than women carried out additional tasks, as well as teachers with a higher length of service at a given school (DEPP, 2022f). The pay reform also guarantees new teachers a net monthly salary of at least EUR 2 000, including the possibility to advance more quickly in the profession.

More and more temporary teachers are hired to fill vacant positions while other measures aim to raise the attractiveness of the teaching profession. Temporary teachers are recruited to fill vacant posts, but often do not have the same level of qualifications and experience as permanent teachers. As a result, the labour market in education is increasingly fragmented, which leads to inequalities in working conditions, pay and career opportunities (Bertron et al., 2023). In 2021/22, 1.4% of primary school teachers and 8.9% of secondary school teachers had temporary contracts in public education. In 2022/23, this was 2.1% and 9.5% respectively (DEPP, 2022d, 2023b). Alternative pathways into the teaching profession exist for higher education graduates and professionals with experience in the private sector. Temporary teachers can pass an exam to become permanent teachers. Improving opportunities for professional progression and strengthening the dialogue with the teaching community are also measures to make the teaching profession more attractive.

2. Early childhood education and care

While participation in early childhood education and care (ECEC) is one of the highest in the EU, the demand for childcare is still unmet. In 2022, 56.2% of 0-to-3-year-olds attended formal childcare and education (EU average 35.7%)². Over the last two decades, the share of 0-to-3-year-olds staying at home with their parents dropped significantly, while the share of children going to childcare almost doubled. However, if all parents got their preferred form of childcare, children would be looked after less by their parents (36% compared with 56% in 2021) and more by crèches (35% compared with 18% in 2021) (DREES, 2023). In France, the ECEC gap (indicating the time between childcare leave and a guaranteed place in ECEC) is 2.5 years (see Figure 2). More than 150 000 parents are prevented from taking up or returning to work due to the lack of childcare facilities suited to their needs and means. However, the government committed to creating 200 000 childcare places by 2030. 71% of children from a disadvantaged background are not enrolled in any form of childcare (CNR Petite enfance, 2022).

Figure 2: Gap between childcare leave and place guarantee in ECEC, 2022/2023

Quality issues and staff shortages remain in the spotlight. In 2022, 16 000 crèches with a total of 412 000 places were surveyed. The survey showed that 49% of those crèches had staff shortages and 6.5-8.6% of posts (full-time equivalents) were vacant (with strong regional differences). This led to almost 2.3% of childcare places being unable to be filled and many institutions working under stressful conditions. Also, 1 in 10 crèche manager positions (postes de direction) were vacant (Cnaf, 2022)³. A report by the Inspectorate General of Social Affairs triggered a debate on the quality of ECEC. It concluded that ECEC is mainly a service to parents, at the expense of quality. It recommended that the ECEC's primary mission of catering to the needs of the child be redefined, taking recent scientific knowledge about child development into account. It also found that abuse (most frequently physical and psychological abuse, neglect and forced feeding) often goes unreported (IGAS, 2023).

Improving the offer, accessibility and quality of ECEC services is a political priority. A broad stakeholder consultation took place in 2022-23 aiming at contributing to the creation of a new public service for early childhood (service public de la petite enfance). The proposals for new measures, include for example: investments of EUR 5 billion to create new places; strengthening local authorities (mainly responsible for providing ECEC services); revising the childcare subsidies for families; creating one-stop-shops in every city to inform parents on the available offer; an “innovation fund for early childhood” endowed with EUR 10 million to support projects aimed at the most disadvantaged families; and strengthening capacities to report and follow-up suspected cases of abuse. Solutions to the staff shortages are also envisaged, but details are yet to be announced (French Government, 2023).

Measures under the early years plan (plan maternelle) aim to improve pre-primary education and reduce inequalities. All children above 3 years attend pre-primary school (100%, above the EU average of 92.5% in 2022)⁴. The early years plan (2022-23) aims to: improve the continuous professional development of all those involved in the teaching profession (teachers, support staff, headmasters, educational advisers and inspectors); strengthen the continuity of ECEC between the age groups of 0-3 and 3-6, traditionally separated in France; and consolidate educational partnerships with families and local communities. The early years plan also contains measures to strengthen skills in mathematics and language learning to help children from all socio-economic backgrounds succeed in primary school (MENJ, 2023d).

3. School education

The downward trend of the last decade in early school leaving continues – an early warning system is in place. At 7.6% in 2022, the early school leaving rate was lower than the EU average (9.6%). However, this rate is almost double in the outermost regions (14.3%). For pupils born outside of the EU and for boys the rate was also higher (12.2% and 9.2%, respectively)⁵. Schools systematically gather information on pupils’ absences (using the tool SIECLE décrochage scolaire), based on which the dropout prevention group (groupe de prevention du décrochage scolaire) identifies and supports pupils at risk of leaving education and training early.

Strengthening basic skills remains a political priority. In the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (European Commission, 2023b), French pupils ranked bottom third and the socio-economic performance gap continued to rank in the highest third among participating EU countries tested in grade 4 in 2021. The study did show positive outcomes too. Performance was stable between 2016 and 2021 (while it dropped in all other participating countries) and France had the lowest bullying and cyberbullying rates. National standardised tests showed that at the beginning of secondary school, in 2022/23, almost a third of all pupils and more than half of pupils at the most disadvantaged schools were low performers (DEPP, 2022b). As from 2023/24, measures will be put in place to help pupils acquire basic skills by providing 1 hour a week of differentiated teaching in French and mathematics to all pupils, expanding the Homework done scheme (Devoirs faits) to all schools and providing teaching guidance. The comprehensive national standardised tests will be expanded to the fourth grade of primary school (CM1) and the third grade of lower secondary school (4e) (MENJ, 2023b).

Schools are encouraged to increase their social mix. In 2022, following a lawsuit, the Ministry of National Education and Youth had to publish the socio-economic status of all primary and lower secondary schools (indice de position sociale), revealing that private schools (whose teachers are publicly funded) host significantly fewer disadvantaged pupils than public ones, especially in major cities (DEPP, 2023a). In 2023, the Ministry of Education set a non-binding target to reduce social segregation in public schools by 20% by 2027 and signed a memorandum of understanding with private schools. Voluntary schemes to increase the social mix were announced, such as opening international sections at disadvantaged schools or strengthening the collaboration between schools located very close to each other but on opposite ends of the socio-economic scale (MENJ, 2023a). The evaluation of a previous pilot project assessed the impact of significantly increasing the social mix at 33 public schools: although pupils’ academic performance did not improve, social cohesion and pupils’ and staff well-being did (CSEN, 2023).

Other policies to reduce inequalities in education continue. The measure to substantially reduce class sizes in priority education zones is almost completed, the last year of pre-primary school (grande section de maternelle) being the last grade to fully join the measure in 2023/24. An evaluation showed that pupils' performance in smaller classes improved; however, a high share continues to underperform (DEPP, 2021). Other schemes to reduce inequality, such as the “education cities” (cités éducatives, experimental platforms for education stakeholders to work together) and the “local support contracts” (contrats locaux d’accompagnement, providing additional resources to schools that are outside of priority education zones, but also host a high share of disadvantaged pupils) continue to be implemented. Additionally, the consultation format “Conseil national de la refondation - École” involves local authorities, schools, teachers, parents and pupils in creating innovative teaching projects to improve pupils’ learning outcomes. The projects can apply for funding from the Pedagogical Innovation Fund with a budget of EUR 500 m between 2022 and 2027 (CNR École, 2022).

France helps pupils and teachers attain green competences and digital skills.The Ministry of Education adopted a new 2023-2027 Digital Education strategy based on consultations with local authorities, NGOs and EdTech companies. It aims to: strengthen cooperation between national and local actors; develop pupils’ digital skills; and provide teachers with digital resources and continuous professional development (MENJ, 2023c). Environmental and sustainability education is ensured from pre-primary to upper secondary school. The School Inspectorate found that the implementation of environmental education is however uneven not only across the country but within schools (IGÉSR, 2023). In June 2023, the Ministry of Education adopted a new action plan, including a competency framework, inspired by the European sustainability competence framework, and guidance for the education community on how to promote the green transition in schools (MENJ, 2023e, 2023f). A 2023 country-specific recommendation also highlighted the need for all EU Member States to step up policy efforts aimed at providing and acquiring the skills and competences needed for the green transition (Council of the EU, 2023).

The inclusion of pupils with disabilities remains a challenge. In a recent decision, the Council of Europe concluded that France was in breach of the European Social Charter because of the “failure of the authorities to adopt effective measures to remedy the problems related to the inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream schools” (Council of Europe, 2023). Inclusion has progressed and funding has increased over the years: an additional 114 600 children with a disability attended mainstream schools in 2022/23 compared to 5 years ago (DEPP 2023b) and around 93 000 one-to-one assistants have been hired between 2015-2021 (DEPP, 2022a). However, the shortage of specialist support staff, inaccessible school infrastructure and mainstream teaching practices have hampered further progress (Défenseur des droits, 2022). Only 1.4% of primary school pupils with disabilities had a specialist teacher and only 3.7% had access to adapted teaching equipment in 2022/23 (DEPP, 2023b). Most of the funding goes to one-to-one assistants while only a small part is allocated to the professional training of those assistants or the purchase of adapted teaching equipment (Cour des Comptes, 2023a).

4. Vocational education and training

Following major reforms and investments, vocational education and training (VET) is becoming more attractive. While still below the EU average (52.1%), the share of pupils in medium-level education (ISCED 3 and 4) studying in vocational education programmes increased since 2020, standing at 40.1% of pupils in 2021⁶. This has been achieved by heavily investing in the VET system, including incentives for employers hiring young people on apprenticeship contracts, financed by the Recovery and Resilience Facility. More than 835 000 new apprenticeship contracts were signed in 2022, +13.64% compared to 2021 (DARES, 2023a). Between 2021 and 2027, the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) will continue to support VET with EUR 1.2 billion⁷.

Despite work-based learning being a major part of all VET programmes, graduates still struggle to find a job. Most recent VET graduates benefited from work-based learning (70.5% in 2022), significantly more than in the EU on average (60.1%)⁸. However, despite improvements, the employment rate of recent VET graduates, with 68.5% in 2022, remains considerably below the EU average (76.9%)⁹. Moreover, compared to apprentices, upper secondary school students following the vocational track benefit from shorter periods of work-based learning and their curricula tend to be less attractive on the labour market. They can struggle to find a job, despite a general skills shortage (DARES, 2022a; DEPP, 2022e, 2022f).

In line with the 2022 French strategy to implement the 2020 Council Recommendation on VET, the government put in place new reforms and investments. These aim to better align curricula with labour market needs, foster teachers’ access to training and improve their overall working conditions. This includes the adoption of the 2022-25 lifelong learning masterplan, and the reform of vocational upper secondary schools announced in May 2023, which includes increasing time spent in internships, internship allowance to all vocational high school students, creation of business relations office in each high school, and objectives for the development of the training offer, to meet the challenges of ecological and digital transitions. While these measures have the potential to improve employment prospects of VET students, staff unions ask for a closer association of teachers to ensure the success of the reform.

5. Higher education

France has a high rate of tertiary educational attainment. In 2022, 50.4% of 25-34-year-olds held a higher education diploma (42% on average in the EU)¹⁰. With 25.6% in 2021, the proportion of STEM graduates (in science, technology, engineering and maths) was in line with the EU average. The proportion of women among STEM graduates is lower than that of men (32% in 2021, similar to the EU average of 32.8)¹¹.

Participation in higher education depends on regional and socio-economic factors. Young people between 20-24 with less educated parents are less likely to study (difference of 25 pps to those with highly educated parents), choose shorter studies and attend less prestigious higher education institutions (MESR, 2023a). Territorial inequalities in access to higher education also persist. The tertiary attainment rate drops the further away the young person lives from a major city. Several strategies exist to address these issues. For example, universities opening branches in rural areas, digital campuses and increased support to students who live away from home (Cour des Comptes, 2023c). On the latter point, the revision of the support system for students might help. In March 2023, the Ministry of Higher Education and Research announced that 35 000 additional students will benefit from financial support, higher amounts of scholarships will be paid to all students and rents are frozen in public student residences (MESR, 2023b).

Higher education graduates face some employment challenges, especially women. The employment rate of recent graduates (20-34 years), with 83.6% in 2022, was below the EU average (86.7%)¹². This rate was stable in the last decade, whereas most EU countries have seen their rates increase. A national study looked at the last three years of graduate activity from 2016/17. It found that the higher the level of qualification, the faster graduates found lasting employment, with graduates from scientific and technological subjects at a clear advantage. With equivalent qualifications, women have less favourable career paths than men. For example, after engineering school, 70% of men were rapidly in stable employment, compared to 54% of women (MESR, 2023a).

While a comprehensive framework for micro-credentials does not yet exist, several providers already offer them. A common definition of micro-credentials is not yet established, neither is a legal framework. Micro-credentials are currently mostly offered in higher education, especially by private institutions such as business and engineering schools (Cedefop, 2022). In 2013, the Ministry of Higher Education and Research launched a micro-credential project by setting up the platform Digital University France (France Université Numérique). Its mission is to develop online courses that can supplement university courses or professional training. 140 higher education institutions cooperate with the platform. For the moment, micro-credentials are not listed in the two national qualifications catalogues (Répertoire national des certifications professionnelles and Répertoire spécifique). A legal framework for micro-credentials would need to address recognition, certification and quality assurance.

6. Adult learning

While participation in adult learning is comparatively high, low-skilled adults benefited less from learning opportunities. Adult (age 25-64) participation in learning stood at 13.3% in 2022, higher than the EU average (11.9%)¹³, supported by several measures and reforms put in place since 2018. For example, significant investments were made to support job seekers’ access to training, through the Skills Investment plan (PIC, 2018-2023) and the plan to reduce recruitment tensions. Evaluations show a positive impact of the PIC on access to adult learning. However, the low-skilled remain comparatively disadvantaged which points at the need for further targeting of measures (DARES, 2022b). Additional investments under the French Recovery and Resilience plan helped workers access up- and re-skilling opportunities, such as through the National Fund for Employment (Fonds National pour l'Emploi), which benefited around 400 000 people. Additionally, in 2022, the system of recognising previous learning outcomes was reformed to simplify the procedures, promote individual career changes and facilitate the certification of skills through learning (Validation des Acquis de l'Expérience).

The current high level of skills shortages and mismatches point at the need to further evaluate and adjust these investments. The effectiveness of investments in adult learning is undermined by the low level of basic skills. Increasing the share of the population with basic skills, strengthening the attractiveness of the teaching profession and improving statistical data on adult trainers could improve the efficiency of investments in adult learning (European Commission, 2023a).

The successive reforms of the individual learning account (ILA) led to an overall increase of access to adult learning opportunities, including for the low-qualified. However, despite this positive impact and the significant share of trainings leading to qualifications, more than one in ten ILA users finance their driving licenses using the instrument (DARES, 2023b). This questions the role of this instrument in adult training and points at the need for targeted measures to ensure that the ILA is used for learning that is useful for developing skills aligned with labour market needs.

In 2022, a quality assurance obligation (Qualiopi) was introduced for training bodies. They can be certified by a third party based on a single national reference system if they wish to benefit from public or mutualised funds. In December 2022, eight organisations were nominated to award the Qualiopi certification from 2023 to 2025