entering the world of work too early?

The school essays of our elders bear witness to this: after the last war, in the countryside where television had not yet made its way, children found themselves employed in evening milking and tending animals, whether they wanted it or not. A gradual entry into what we today call the “world of work”.

Access to employment is now completely different for our young people. The theoretical dimension of school learning, especially in general education, does not say much about the reality of the professions that students will be called upon to pursue. Internships are there to give them a small idea of ​​what awaits them.

Long reserved for third grades, they have recently also been made compulsory in second grade, to take advantage of the end-of-year idleness of high school students. Revelation for some, pastime for others – depending on the places involved and the tasks entrusted – these internships have unfortunately also turned out to be deadly for some.

On April 17, in Gard, a 15-year-old teenager was crushed by the construction equipment he was driving. This tragedy brought to the forefront that of last year, in Normandy, where a trainee was this time killed by a pallet during an unloading intended for the decoration store where he was immersed.

Parents are sounding the alarm: Isn’t it irresponsible to send untrained young people into teams that are not more empowered to supervise them? The Ministry of National Education immediately reacted by raising the possibility of replacing these internships with one-day visits to companies under the supervision of a teacher.

An organization which, if it is more secure, will hardly allow you to get your hands dirty… While yesterday’s professional future seemed a little too predictable, today it is marked by a climate of great uncertainty. All the more reason to seriously mark out this path towards active life using carefully considered measures.