France: Tackling employment issues on all fronts
The Chief Executive of France Travail, Thibault Guilluy, and the Regional Director of France Travail for Guadeloupe, Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy, Fabrice Marie-Rose, were on an official visit to the region. On this occasion, several partnership agreements were signed, with a single aim: to boost local employment through tailored initiatives.
On 30 March, the France Travail delegation was received at the Collectivité by President Louis Mussington and Third Vice-President Dominique Démocrite Louisy to renew the partnership agreement between the two institutions. Signed in 2024 for a period of two years, it needed to be extended in order to continue support for employment and to strengthen shared logistical and digital resources for staff in the Social Action and Integration Department, who are responsible for supporting recipients of the Active Solidarity Income (BRSA) and those receiving comprehensive support.
A worrying assessment
Figures from data provided by the ITSEE, Carif-Oref and France Travail highlight a worrying situation. Of the 31,477 residents recorded in 2024, 35% have no qualifications, whilst only 18% have completed two years of further education. This partly explains the difficulty faced by both businesses (40% of them) and institutions in recruiting locally. The unemployment rate remains high, and one in two jobseekers has no declared work experience. The development of training programmes therefore appears necessary to bring those furthest from the labour market (including young people aged 15 to 29, who account for 21% of the population) back into employment.
New, more tailored tools
Faced with this situation, Thibault Guilluy, aware of the need to adapt tools to the region’s specific characteristics, indicated that technological partnerships, the introduction of artificial intelligence into training programmes, and intensive support for jobseekers will be put in place. “An ambitious roadmap that can turn Saint-Martin into a true laboratory for social and economic innovation,” he said.
President Louis Mussington welcomed this “win-win” partnership, noting that training young people is a major challenge. He also called on local businesses to adopt a policy of prioritising local recruitment in order to promote employment for Saint-Martinians.
