Interns and work-study students facing the coronavirus crisis

Students in a TD room at the University of Lille (illustration).

-

• "It's hard to be 20 years old in 2020," said Emmanuel Macron, during his speech on October 15.

  20 Minutes

   took him at his word by exploring several areas of the lives of young people.

• For many students, finding an internship or work-study is a hassle.

  But some do better depending on their course or thanks to state aid.

It's hard to be a student.

The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, acknowledged it, it is "difficult to be 20 years old in 2020" because of the coronavirus crisis.

Already deprived of bars for a few weeks and home parties with the curfew, the students of the Lille metropolis are also struggling in their studies.

In addition to face-to-face or remote lessons with varying degrees of success, young people sometimes had to fight hard to find an internship or work-study program.

For some, 2020 is definitely a year to forget.

If it is nowhere written that the reception of trainees is prohibited, in fact, it remains complicated.

The coronavirus crisis has emptied many companies of their employees, either because they are sick or because they are teleworking, and there is sometimes no one left to take care of an intern.

At

, it is impossible to accommodate aspiring journalists because of health measures and the difficulty for tutors to follow them by being regularly in the

.

Perseverance pays off

"I started looking for an internship at the beginning of September by sending I don't even know how many CVs and cover letters to media located in Lille, but also in Paris and Lyon", explains Camille Ruiz, in the third year of the license. at the Academy of the Lille Higher School of Journalism.

His CV was “no problem”,

 received it and we can assure you it is concrete.

"When I got answers, companies told me that they took fewer or no interns because of the health crisis," continues the young woman of 20 years.

Because she did not give up, Camille managed to scratch five days, at the end of December, at the local Villeneuve-d'Ascq with our colleagues from the

.

In a completely different area, Sarah Dias, 20, has also rowed well.

“From June I started looking for a work-study contract to finally find one at the beginning of September,” remembers this BTS student in Negotiation and digitalization of customer relations.

She also does not remember the number of requests sent, mainly via the Internet: “Frankly, I wanted to give up because most of the time, no one answered,” she admits.

She obtained her work-study program in a gym.

"Except that it had to close and I find myself today in partial unemployment", deplores Sarah.

Sectors requesting and state aid

However, all is not bad for everyone.

The students of medicine, pharmacy or dentistry at the University of Lille, for example, had no trouble finding internships in hospitals in the region.

Ditto for work-study students at the University School of Management (IAE) in Lille.

“In fact, despite the crisis, we manage to place students on work-study programs or on professional contracts,” assures Sabine Westeel, in charge of the business relations department.

Its secret actually comes from the State: “The government pays a bonus of 8,000 euros to companies for each major work-study hired.

They have almost nothing left to pay, ”she continues.

For internships, which usually take place between April and May, this may be more complicated.

“Last year we made internships optional.

Some students have found it all the same, but not all, far from it, ”notes Sabine Westeel.

This is also the solution adopted by the government for the third year internships which will not be compulsory this year.

Lille

Coronavirus in Lille: Towards a return to distance education at the university?

Montpellier

Montpellier: The law student on hunger strike since Friday has found a master's degree

• Society

• Covid 19

• Youth

• Traineeship

• Student

• Coronavirus

• Lille