Why will the colos run out of monos this summer?

• In France, 5,000 posts for leisure center and summer camp organizers are to be filled for the summer period.

• The number of graduates of the certificate of aptitude for the functions of animator (BAFA) fell by 22% between 2019 and 2020, a fall which reflects a growing disinterest in the sector.

• An increase in pay and skills is what animation professionals are hoping for.

  Who will be forced this summer to restrict the number of childcare staff, or even to eliminate stays.

Every year in France, 1.3 million children go to leisure centers or summer camps.

But this time, these leisure facilities, popular with parents who cannot take eight weeks off or cannot afford a family vacation, will not be running at full speed.

In question: the shortage of seasonal animators, whom the centers are struggling to recruit to complete the teams.

“This crisis has been latent for a while, recognizes Michael Ramalhosa, program director at the National Federation of Francas and coordinators of the Observatory of educational leisure centers.

But before, we managed to find solutions until the day before the departures.

As soon as people showed up, they were taken.

Today, more than 5,000 applications are missing, and the number of graduates of the certificate of aptitude for the functions of animator (BAFA) drops drastically.

According to the National Institute of Youth and Popular Education (Injep), 31,000 BAFAs were issued in 2020, i.e. 22% less than in 2019. A trend over several years since in 2016, nearly 55,000 diplomas had been issued.

Why are young people leaving the sector?

What are the prospects for the future?

takes stock.

Obstacles to BAFA training

First there is the case of young people whose motivation is not lacking, but who suffered from the context of the previous two years.

“BAFA training takes place in the spring.

However, we were confined to these periods, ”explains Gauthier Herbomel, regional delegate of Hauts-de-France to the French Union of Holiday Centers (Ufcv).

Two years in a row, the trainings had to be canceled, and only some could be postponed to June.

In addition, the question of price regularly comes up on the table.

Passing the BAFA means paying between 800 and 1,000 euros to validate the training course, which includes three courses: two theoretical and one practical.

A cost that can be compensated during the practical internship, if it is paid.

"Sometimes, employers offer the BAFA to candidates on the condition that they lead several stays thereafter without being paid," says Vincent Clivio, director of development and community life at the National Federation of Rural Families.

Another option: do your practical internship without being paid.

On the aid side, CAF offers 91.47 euros.

Local authorities are also helping out, but in different ways.

According to the departments, they vary from 100 to 400 euros.

Not to mention additional aid of 200 euros announced by the government in October 2021, allocable from 2022, due to the shortage of animators.

An attractiveness at half mast

But if the chances of getting a job in leisure reception are multiplied for those who have the BAFA, they are not zero otherwise.

"The rule is the same regardless of the time of year: the teams must be made up of at least 50% trained members," says Michael Ramalhosa.

Without forgetting that other diplomas equivalent to the BAFA allow access to this seasonal job.

Among others, the early childhood CAP, sports patents or the STAPS license.

The current shortage of monos would therefore be explained more by the lack of attractiveness of the sector.

"Young people will turn to more profitable seasonal jobs", according to Gauthier Herbomel.

According to the employers, the remuneration, for a day of supervision, amounts mainly to around thirty euros - sometimes going "up to x 10" -, according to the regional delegate.

However, young people "identify less than before the educational cause", he adds.

Michael Ramalhosa confirms: “Being an animator is more of an educational commitment than a job.

And he is not compensated up to what he should be”.

"Like all social bond professions", concludes Gauthier Herbomel.

What prospects?

As a result of this lack of supervisors, on the organizational side for this summer, there is concern.

“We have difficulty closing all the teams, assures Vincent Clivio.

Many associations are reducing the capacity to accommodate children, some are going so far as to eliminate stays”.

Because there is a golden rule to respect: that of the ratio children/animators.

"For those over 6 years old, it's one animator for 12 children, and we won't go below," explains Michael Ramalhosa.

Can we turn the tide?

“Training should be made attractive, but also highlight the learning of collective life and transferable skills in other areas afterwards”, according to Michael Ramalhosa.

While the first Assises de l'animation took place in early 2022, Vincent Clivio hopes for the imminent creation of an "animation sector committee, which would bring together all the stakeholders in the sector" to "discuss the improvement of working conditions and training of facilitators”.

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