France is doing better, unemployment is falling, hiring is going well.
At a time of this recovery, many sectors are experiencing difficulties in recruiting. The professions of old age for which I am fighting of course, and also other sectors such as hotels and restaurants, health professions and even industry.
While cyclical tensions may exist on the adequacy of the pools formed, the real cause is often a lack of attractiveness of the given sector. Indeed, in a flourishing job market, many young people are spoiled for choice.
But what would make them want to work in the old age sector, which represents a potential of 350,000 jobs in the coming years, at a time when unemployment is at its lowest? What would push them to work in the service of their elders, to make them generations in solidarity?
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Certainly not the speeches about these jobs in a derogatory way. We cannot deny the problems of arduousness and remuneration in the professions of old age. But reducing them to poorly paid menial tasks will irreparably block any desire of young people to turn to these professions. Indeed, I have never heard a restaurateur recruit by warning that in his establishment the work would be horrible and poorly paid!
Attractiveness starts with the payroll
I used to say that attractiveness starts with the payroll. It’s true, I believe so. This is why we have improved the remuneration of nursing home employees and home helpers in the associative branch, up to € 250 per month. This will bring some comfort to the staff in post and perhaps encourage the youngest to join the sector. But it will never be enough if the profession does not reflect a better image. This is where the notion of employer brand of an entire sector comes in. And old age is not devoid of assets that will have to be cultivated.
→ READ ALSO. Professions of old age, human wealth and gaining poverty
To work in a profession, you must first want to. Now, the trades of old age have this peculiarity that they are beautiful, almost noble. As for teachers who have a very strong educational mission, professionals of old age take care of a key moment in life, at the time of old age. This quest for meaning is fundamental for generations Y or Z. Getting the specificity and value of a profession recognized is an essential step in any vocation. The creation of a professional card that I carry for home helpers is part of this.
Career opportunities
Then you have to have the opportunity to learn and grow. In other sectors, it looks like a career. Why would this not be possible with the professions of old age? Can you have a career in a fast food restaurant, but not in an nursing home? Here again, the sector has potential. Training has been stepped up and there are career development opportunities, particularly in coaching teams in an area where coordination is key.
Finally, we must recognize the great technicality of the profession which is unknown. The professions of old age will involve more and more technicality tomorrow due to the aging of the population, which will make it necessary to increase medical care. The contribution of new technologies, the stronger intervention of medical know-how, and the constitution of fields of expertise will transform the professions and strengthen their interest among new generations, perhaps more masculine.
Contrary to stereotypes, there is therefore a fertile ground that must be made fruitful. All this work takes time, and depends on professionals, responsible policies, but also more broadly on the way society looks at the sector.
→ READ. The choices of old age
It is only on the condition of this transformation of the employer brand that the new generations will want to put themselves at the service of the oldest. Without these efforts, which involve all of us, the sector will still have difficulty attracting. And no one will come out a winner.
I believe in the potential of these professions, as I believe in the future of young people. What if it was through employment that intergenerational solidarity was firmly anchored in our society?
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