Universal national service: why National Education is struggling to recruit supervisors

Louise Sallé 06h16, February 13, 2022

The 2022 "cohesion stays" of the universal national service (SNU) begin this Sunday.

The Secretary of State for Youth, Sarah El Haïry, is visiting a center in La Turballe, in Loire-Atlantique, for the occasion.

During the February holidays, a total of 3,000 volunteers aged 15 to 17 take part in these stays organized by the State for two weeks, on the values ​​of the Republic.

Over the whole year, the Ministry of National Education is targeting 50,000 participants, compared to 15,000 in 2021. An objective which aims to deploy the system on a large scale, with a view to making it compulsory by 2023 for all young people. 16 years old.

But this figure of 50,000 seems unattainable, due to the lack of qualified personnel wishing to supervise these stays.

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Bafa graduates, the rare pearl 

Myriam* is regional coordinator for universal national service.

This year, she was instructed to welcome 700 young people during the February holidays in her region.

But she is only expecting 220 in the end. “We are ric-rac for February in terms of personnel, I have absolutely no idea how we will be able to meet our objectives for the summer, we will not succeed”, she explains at the microphone of Europe 1. "We don't give ourselves enough means. It's a shame, we find ourselves in the technical inability to organize quality activities, well supervised. We should install a real professional culture, with stable contracts."

The UNS is struggling to recruit qualified facilitators.

Bafa graduates (certificate of aptitude for facilitator functions) do not run the streets, many training courses having been canceled since the start of the pandemic.

However, the law requires, for each stay of minors, a minimum number of qualified supervisors in the animation.

A share of 20% of the team, at most, is authorized to have no specific diploma.

But this rate is far from being respected by the UNS, as recruiting facilitators is so complicated.

"I was paid €1.50 an hour", says a former SNU host

In 2022, hiring is likely to be even more problematic than in 2021. Several supervisors, recruited last summer, no longer wish to start over.

SNU stays now have a bad press, because of the poor remuneration conditions, which are inferior to other summer camps offered on the market.

Guilhem Marcellin is the former deputy director of an SNU center in Aude, for which he worked from March 1 to July 8, 2021. He opened a dispute against National Education to complain about his remuneration.

"I was paid 4,200 euros, or 1.50 euros per hour", he laments on Europe 1. "The State does not respect anything, in my team we had 60% of unqualified animators which is not legal", continues this animator by profession.

"Yet I love the concept, free stays for young people from all walks of life who meet, it's a great idea… But you have to do it well", he regrets.

The organizers of the SNU "ric rac" for February

Olivier*, is a civil servant of the National Education.

Coaching SNU last July, he received his pay five months later.

Result of the races: 800 euros, for 31 days worked.

"I was not at all paid up to my investment", he comments at the microphone of Europe 1. "68 euros per day, gross, for 12 days while I was mobilized in 31 days, counting rest and training… And for days when you work non-stop between 6 am and midnight”, continues the civil servant.

"This treatment is in total distortion with the values ​​that we transmit during the stay, and the model of exemplarity that we teach to young people", he adds, before concluding: "The contract not being very clear in the recruitment of staff, all of which is likely to rest this year". The organizers of the SNU, already "ric ra" for the February holidays according to testimonies, fear not to find anyone for the summer stays announced. without BAFA.

*The identity of these people has been changed to preserve their anonymity.