[Translation NSS EPALE France]

Supporting people in professional transitions today: a change of focus?

We recently published two articles on this Epale platform: one on the Great Resignation[1] and the other on tensions in recruitment[2]. We sought to provide some insight on the reality of these phenomena, what can be observed, the potential reasons (both immediate and as part of slow changes) and we also made some modest proposals for levers of action, some of which have long been implemented, with noticeable results (changing recruitment methods, new forms of active mediation in employment, rethinking the role of experience in the pathways to employment, etc.). The articles gave rise to numerous reactions, particularly from the world of recruitment, companies and professional branches concerned by these issues. This is because the current period is being shaken by major variations that are intense, multifactorial and impact all sectors and geographical areas. Against this background, the question of professional transitions arises. Although it may seem simple (moving from one job to another, from one position to another), it requires us to: clarify what we are talking about; observe the other transformations at work at the same time, in particular those of the world of employment; and question what the service of supporting people in transitions covers (the aims, content, methods, etc.).

Experiencing professional transitions: moving on in a changing world?

Although the issue of necessary transitions (ecological, energy, etc.) has long been an acceptable objective, especially if they do not affect our lifestyles too heavily, we are currently confronted with individual and collective choices that all have consequences on our daily lives: travel, heating, food, etc. The cards have been reshuffled and everyone is adapting their strategies as best they can ahead of a worrying future. Corine Pelluchon in her book “Réparons le monde”[3] (Fixing the World) writes: “The energy transition is inseparable from the ecological transition, which implies a reconversion of the economy: it can no longer be based on unlimited growth or on the illusory belief that resources are infinitely available.” And she adds: “Breaking away from the current development model also means rethinking our values and ways of being. This would appear to be the most difficult challenge to overcome.”

In this context, the notion of our “ways of being” necessarily questions the role of work, its characteristics but also its compatibility with the other aspects of our daily lives and the balance required. This leads people to make sometimes brutal choices about their way of life. And they are right to question the role, shape and usefulness of their work. This means that support professionals are now meeting people who have put on hold or even given up on long thought-out career paths because the uncertain costs of travel threaten their economic survival. We are all confronted with contingency: making informed choices requires a minimum of confidence in the stability and predictability of the world to come. For the moment, this is not exactly the case. And this, by knock-on effect, raises uncertainty about the stability of the next stage. Should I just wait for the fog to lift? is what a number of transition candidates are thinking (and hoping) out loud.

Transitions: what are we talking about?

When we look specifically at professional transitions, which are by their very nature unique (each person is unique, all paths are new), we have to think about them as complex interactions that are not always predictable. Rather than talking about professional transitions, making them a separate “thing”, an object of study dissociated from the people who experience them, we have made the decision here to examine the question of “people in transition” and to propose both some analytical hypotheses and suggestions on providing support for these people. The analysis that follows is also directly inspired by a collective contribution[4] proposed in July 2022 to the Professional Transitions Working Group of the France Stratégie Employment and Skills Network, the report being expected in early 2023. It also contributes to the preparation of the 14th KELVOA meeting[5] to be held in Paris on 27 June 2023 on this very theme.

But can we really avoid a definition when the term is used on a daily basis to refer to many important issues?

“In the primary sense, a transition is a passage from one state to another. More precisely, it can be seen as a systemic change that leads to profound spatial recomposition. Transition connotes the idea of progressiveness, of gradual change; but a transition may involve rupture[6].” 

The advantage of a definition is precisely to better qualify what we are talking about. And to better understand the different facets. In this case, the idea of moving from one state to another can lead us to think of transition with a single distinguishing criterion: the progressiveness or rapidity (abruptness) of this change. However, this presupposes that we move from a state that we are able to define to another state that we can also characterise. As we will see, this presupposition needs to be closely studied. But, if we agree for the moment on this first definition, transition is a passing phase, a state in-between one situation and another, in which people need support. In its study, France Compétences gives the following definition: “a professional transition is considered to be any change of profession or status in which the elements of rupture are more significant than the continuities.” But does talking about professional transition also mean questioning employment itself in transition?

The employment world... in transition?

The CREPI (Regional Club of Integration Partners) published a very enlightening summary note[7]: The employment world of the future: How can we adapt to a changing market? which extends this complex issue to all stakeholders and draws our attention to the levers of action that can be used by companies.  Laurent Duclos, economist and sociologist, states in this note: “In skilled labour markets (marked by high selectivity), labour shortages have emerged. The logical counterpart of these shortages was to increase the bargaining power of those concerned, both job applicants and employees. The need for skilled labour thus creates opportunities for employees already working, hence the high resignation rates which simply reflect the current dynamism of the market.” This makes the excessive extrapolations on totally new movements appear rather as standard regulations. This is likely because our highly selective system on the qualified market (an almost indisputable standard) now appears to be no more than a contextual game in which the balances are shifting. Laurent Duclos explains: “In other segments of the labour market where lower quality jobs are in the majority, a number of employees have simply been able to 'invent the life that suits'.” This situation leads to more frequent adjustments and a certain form of agility which is primarily linked to the possible low quality of the jobs. “It is not surprising that those employees least likely to negotiate their positions have learned to manage them as 'variables' in their own existence.” It is clear from these remarks how difficult it is to consider the question of the relationship to employment, and therefore the question of professional transitions, independently of the situations and modes of operation of the labour market. These contextual adaptations to the possible negotiation between the individual and this market are nothing new. We had probably lost sight of them somewhat. This has led to a strong focus on employability ('making' the person more employable according to pre-determined criteria), while many people could see that their efforts did not radically change this unfavourable negotiation relationship. And today, legitimately, this relationship is changing, prompting a collective rethinking of these interactions. The responsibility can no longer be placed on the individual to comply with expectations and show determination to work: we have to build a space for negotiation that creates the conditions for a positive outcome for all.  And paradoxically, the time is ripe for the flourishing of stubborn beliefs. According to a recent survey carried out for Unedic [8], “suspicion” towards job seekers is growing. “A majority of French people believe that jobseekers have difficulty finding work because they do not make concessions in their job search (60%) and do not want to risk losing their unemployment benefit (57%, up 2 pts).” We encourage you to read the article[9] “Vetting the unemployed: history repeating itself,  with strong beliefs and detached from reality” (in French).

So what about supporting people in transition?

This investigation into representations can be extended to other subjects. We all have strong beliefs about professional transitions. Seeking a better understanding of reality, freeing ourselves from 'prototypes', can help to clarify our answers. In February 2022, France Compétences published the final report of a study on professional retraining pathways[10]. The study focuses on individual experiences of professional transitions. The findings are wide-ranging: a large variety of transition situations; very different triggers and rationales at play; different visions of support; people who also ‘tinker’ with the resources available. Béatrice Delay, who coordinated the study for France Compétences, extends these observations to some issues for individuals and specifies the impacts on support: “The diversity of career paths and aspirations in the field of retraining poses many challenges to the provision of support: establishing forms of support that are sufficiently regulated to guarantee social equity and a homogeneous quality of service; while at the same time developing malleable forms of support that do not lock individuals into standardised, procedural or predetermined approaches, but help them, through listening, to build their own career path.” She continues: “such an aim presupposes: starting from eminently unique situations and using flexible and adjusted ways of providing support; provoking opportunities for immersion and making the experiences of the beneficiaries into working material for the support.”

This in turn raises the question of how to support people in transition and what its aims are. It therefore would seem essential to move away from duplicable chronological models and towards unique, constantly adjusted approaches in which it is not so much the project (the intended purpose) that governs the transition process but rather a broader focus on the relevant opportunities in the situation. It is therefore an iterative movement that articulates experience and feedback on this experience. In the collective contribution to the France Stratégie Working Group, we note: “Support may therefore not seek to establish intentions (a well-identified, validated project, a job target to stick to, etc.), but to establish and maintain movement - thus avoiding a focus on a fixed target that hinders the possibilities of experience and the opportunities that may emerge. Support helps the person to develop “an interest (...) and a capacity to make changes to their intention in order to transform it in the process[11]. This intention will come from interest.”

In short, support as an experience of supported experience[12] as Solveig Grimaud beautifully writes.

 Perspectives

To open up the discussion on supporting professionals in transition and return to the original definition, are we talking about moving from one stable situation to a new stable situation? Or can we not observe a more permanent process of ongoing regulation which leads individuals to frequently re-examine their relationship to work and their professional life? To ask the question in these terms is to answer it in part. Supporting people in transition necessarily involves two facets: the first is providing support for decision-making processes in the short and medium term (what to do tomorrow), the other is a less chronological and linear process that refers more to support during one's working life (how to conduct one's working life and anticipate what can be done). In short, taking issues of professional transition and transposing onto them a current approach which combines prevention (thinking about the process in its continuity) and decision (acting in a relevant way in the situation, here and now). This is reminiscent of the questions asked at the beginning about the ecological transition.

It is a question for all of us, the people we support, professionals and public authorities, about our “ways of being” and about how we envisage the future in very uncertain times.

We will have the opportunity to delve further into all these questions, by developing these various points during the 14th KELVOA meeting “Supporting people in professional transition” in Paris on 27 June 2023.

André Chauvet

- 14ème rencontre KELVOA « Accompagner les personnes en transition professionnelle aujourd’hui » à Paris le 27 juin 2023: https://www.kelvoa.com/accompagner-personnes-transition-professionnelle/

- contribution collective de Béatrice Delay, Anne Fretel, Solveig Grimault et André Chauvet proposée en juillet 2022 au groupe de travail « Transitions professionnelles » du Réseau Emploi Compétences de France Stratégie: https://www.kelvoa.com/contribution-au-groupe-de-travail-transitions-professionnelles/

- Grande démission : vraiment ? https://epale.ec.europa.eu/fr/blog/grande-demission-vraiment

- Tensions de recrutement : transitoires ou désertion durable ?: https://epale.ec.europa.eu/fr/blog/tensions-de-recrutement-transitoires-ou-desertion-durable

- Note de synthèse du CREPI : Le monde du travail d’après

- Baromètre de la perception du chômage et de l’emploi / Volet 4: https://elabe.fr/unedic-barometre-chomage-4/

- Éditorial. Contrôler les chômeurs : une histoire qui se répète (forte de ses croyances et à l’abri des réalités) par Anne Fretel, Béatrice Touchelay, Marc Zune Dans Revue Française de socio-économie 2018/1 N) 20 page 9 à 25 : https://www.cairn.info/revue-francaise-de-socio-economie-2018-1-page-9.htm

- Article de Solveig Grimaud, l’accompagnement comme expérience de l’expérience accompagnée, Revue OSP, 50/1, 2021: https://journals.openedition.org/osp/13813