Apprentis Série-Collection : Thema : Apprentissages

Ariel Camacho, Laurent Guyot
1998 - 70 min - Betacam SP - Couleur - France

What is the reality of training youngsters by apprenticeships? In order to understand the limitations and the successes of this ambiguous association of business and school, the film-makers invited seven adolescents to speak. They reconstituted the typical path followed by an apprentice: from the meeting with the careers adviser at school (college Françoise Dolto in Reichshoffen, Alsace), to the selection tests to get into the apprentices training centre in Bondoufle in Essonne, to the firm. They compare their points of view with those of teachers, businessmen, tutors, and share the worries and questions of the parents.
During an exchange visit organised by the European Community, they also follow them to the Carl-Benz school and to the Mercedes factory in Gaggenau, Germany. The difficulties and advantages of the French system compared to the mythical German Dual system which is presently being questioned by the very people who use it are thus highlighted.