For 11 years, the Commission for the Integration of Graduates has been helping students prepare for and enter the workforce. So, how did 2020 shape up?
The Commission for the Integration of Graduates (CID), chaired by Minister of State Pierre Dartout, submitted its annual activity report for 2020 this week, showing that the programme continues to go from strength to strength.
Since its creation in 2010, the CID has been an important facilitator in student’s lives in the Principality. It is responsible for improving access to working life for young graduates – Monegasques, residents and those with ties to the Principality, by developing links with dynamic and successful companies in the Monegasque market.
In addition to its Chairman, Monaco’s Minister of State, members include government ministers, members of the National Council, and representatives of the Employers’ Federation and the Junior Chamber of Commerce.
The 2020 report shows that nine new companies partnered with the CID last year, bringing the total to 205 since 2010. The CID programme was used by 198 new students or graduates, and 46 internships were arranged. In addition, 21 work-study positions were filled and 78 inquiries were assisted.
Overall, the CID helped to find 39 jobs for students in 2020, bringing the total to 337 over the space of 11 years.
Interestingly, the report showed an increasing shift towards the Marketing, Communication and Commerce sector, with 26% of students who found employment from 2010 to 2020 studying in this area. “Over the years, we can observe an increase in the number of students moving towards these studies to the detriment of the Legal, Finance and Construction sectors,” say the authors of the report.
Meanwhile, in the year 2020, 15.2% of students studied Finance, 14.9% focussed on Law, 11.3% in AAdministration and HR, 9.2% in Construction and Engineering, 5.4% Technology, 5.4% in Social and Health, 5.4% Hospitality and 4.2% in Science.
Taking into account all the students monitored by the CID, 60% have held a minimum Bac +5 since the year 2010.
In 2020, 198 Monegasque students, new graduates and expatriates were able to benefit from the services of the CID for job search, work-study or internship opportunities, or simply to obtain information on promising sectors in the Principality. The number of young people involved increased by 41% compared to 2019.
A breakdown of demographics shows a relatively even distribution among the sexes, with 107 females and 91 males in 2020. However, some areas of study continue to see gender inequality, namely engineering, which had one female and 11 male students.
Meanwhile, 80% of students followed were bilingual English/French, an essential factor in gaining employment in the Principality today.
While 12 new companies were recruited to join the CID initiative last year, the Covid-19 health crisis had an enormous impact on the internship programme, particularly in France and abroad. As a result, some students preferred to undertake their internships in Monaco.  “Despite numerous constraints linked to the health crisis (teleworking of managers, CTTR, etc.), the companies contacted to welcome interns did their best to respond favourably to internship requests,” states the report. “Of the 46 internship searches, 42 were positive for 2020, one was transformed into a project tutored by the school, one was cancelled and two are being processed for spring or summer 2021.”