Apprenticeships in the Principality are not limited to manual trades. Every year since 2007, around 15 students qualified to Bac+2 level can access to training for banking jobs which alternates theoretical classes and placements with companies. The results speak for themselves.
The initiative is based on a partnership established in 2007 between the Monaco Direction du Travail (Department of Work) youth employment unit, the Association monégasque des activités financières (Monegasque Association of Financial Activities) and the Institut bancaire de formation de Nice (Nice Banking Training Institute), with the purpose of developing the first professional training qualification specific to Monaco. The result is a new Diplôme européen d’études supérieures (DEES – European Advanced Studies Diploma). Professionals from the Monaco market are involved at all levels in the content and teaching of the Diploma.
Approximate 80% Success Rate
The approach has so far been very successful: indeed 53 of the 67 students following the course between 2007 and 2012 have qualified. All 53 have also gone on to find a job with a Monegasque banking organisation. All jobs are covered, including commercial, back office, accounting, internal checks and trading on the trading floor. This year ten students have been accepted onto the course, for which the only prerequisite is proof of a Bac+2 qualification. The initial selection process involves a written and oral exam which is jointly co-ordinated by the Monaco youth employment unit and the Institut bancaire de formation de Nice. Those who manage to pass this first stage are then introduced to banking institutions seeking trainees. Once they are finally accepted onto the course, the young apprentices (whose average age is 22, with a maximum age of 26) spend two days per week training and three days in their placement. Sophie Vincent, Head of the Monaco Service de l’Emploi (Employment Service), explains: “We also have a monitoring role. Given that we are funding the training, we must of course also comply with the priority criteria under Monegasque law, meaning that places are prioritised for residents of the Principality and the bordering communes. At the end of the training, the apprentices sit an exam that is the same as for all French DEES courses, and includes a written component and an oral exam. They are also tested by Monegasque professionals, who are therefore involved in the partnership at all levels". Every year, the Monaco Direction du Travail organises a work/study programme and banking careers day, when the first application forms are handed out to young people interested in the DEES banking course. The selection process is carried out at the end of May. After a year on the work/study programme, young people with the qualification can expect to build a career in Monaco. Although there are no accurate statistics on the length of employment contracts signed, Sophie Vincent has noticed an encouraging trend: "As a general rule, students don't come back to us to register as jobseekers".
Bac+2 is equivalent to the baccalaureate + 2 years' higher education
