In July 2020, the
Coraline association turned its mission into an urgent priority: fostering recruitment for high-school diploma holders and graduates from higher education establishments, notably for young people in
priority urban neighborhoods.
Based in Montpellier’s La Mosson district, the association provides job search and training assistance. After the first lockdown, they launched a new action called “
C’FaitPourVous” (it’s being done for you).
“We had to build some kind of momentum, as young people who just received their diplomas were going to encounter difficulties in the job market starting in September,” explains Jamal Benghabrit, Managing Director of Groupe Céphée, the organization that oversees the Coraline association and two “cooperative companies of collective interest”: Pil’Emploi and Métropolitaine de Services.
The health crisis worsened the economic situation But even before that, young graduates from underprivileged areas were already having a harder time finding jobs than other people, even with an equivalent level of education. One figure confirms the situation:
37% of the job seekers from those areas had a high school diploma or higher, as of the second half of 2019.
Carried out in partnership with
Fondation Mozaïk, the C’FaitPourVous action sought to help them. Funded as part of a contract signed between the French government,
Occitanie Pyrénées-Méditerranée Region, Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, and the city of Montpellier, C’FaitPourVous targets all diploma holders by breaking through the isolation suffered by all those living in Montpellier’s twelve priority neighborhoods.
Coraline established a dedicated team to go out and meet with people, providing them with the tools they need, and supporting them in their job searches by opening the doors to previously inaccessible professional networks.
The nationwide Diversifiez Vos Talents (diversify your talents) platform created by Fondation Mozaïk – free of charge for all job seekers and companies – was also made available to them. Workshops were notably dedicated to “soft skills” in order to give people the benefit of additional assets. Lastly, Coraline was supported by Montpellier Métropole, highly committed to promoting diversity and inclusive employment.
“Since our program was launched, Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole has been a facilitator with respect to professional networks and communication, in particular asking us to participate in the web series Click and Recruit! Diversify your sourcing,” highlights Laurène Blavat, project leader for the C’FaitPourVous action.
By increasing candidates’ professional exposure to employers, and helping them develop their professional network, C’FaitPourVous has started to produce results. In 2021 alone, more than 144 candidates were assisted, respecting gender equality and with over half from underprivileged neighborhoods.
Also targeting recruiters, C’FaitPourVous actively works with committed companies during their recruitment process. In 2021, over 220 job offers in the Hérault department were posted on the Diversify your Talents platform, including 220 from recruiters based in the Montpellier Métropole area.
By mid-December, Coraline had 81 positive outcomes, including internships, work-study, fixed term work contracts, open-ended contracts, and business startups. “22% of our positive results were for open-ended work contracts, and 30% were for work-study,” explains Jamal Benghabrit.
C’FaitPourVous is a completely innovative approach. Coraline was even invited to present it at
the first Inclusion Summit held on November 29 in Bercy (Paris), with Bruno Le Maire (French Minister of the Economy, Finance, and Recovery, and Saïd Hammouche, president of Fondation Mozaïk.
“There were over 500 decision-makers at the Summit. It served as a springboard to present our program. Thanks to the Summit, we were able to demonstrate Montpellier Métropole’s dynamics promoting inclusive recruitment,” concludes Laurène Blavet.
