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The jobs that are most in demand in each French region

A new survey reveals which jobs have the highest levels of recruitment region by region in France and it could be helpful reading for any jobseekers out there.

Published: 7 January 2019 14:31 CET
The jobs that are most in demand in each French region
Photos: AFP
Looking for a job in France can be tough, especially if you've only recently arrived and don't know where to start. 
 
A new survey carried out by French online jobs platform Jobintree, might be of some use to you.
 
This study shows which jobs had the highest rate of recruitment in France's 13 regions during 2018. 
 
To come up with the results the site used the 3.4 million jobs published on its platform last year to come up with a list of the top ten most sought after professionals in each French region. 
 
Grand Est 
 
In the eastern French region of Grand Est, which has 5.5 million inhabitants, the top three sectors that are recruiting in the region are mechanic, after-sales service and maintenance technician and customer advisor. 
 
The top three were followed by administrative assistants, shop assistants, truck drivers, sales consultants, skilled construction workers, train drivers and production officers, the people who make sure everything on the production floor is working according to plan. 
 
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Hauts-de-France 
 
Meanwhile in the northern Hauts-de-France region, which has more than six million inhabitants, the jobs with the highest level of recruitment were after-sales service and maintenance technicians, mechanics and mainline train drivers. 
 
Making up the rest of the top ten were order pickers, a person who picks and delivers material needed for filling orders from storage, HR consultants, production officers, customer advisors, skilled construction workers, accountants and personal care assistants, for example the professionals who help the elderly.  
 
Normandy 
 
The jobs which saw the highest levels of recruitment in the northwestern region in 2018, according to the survey, were mechanics, after-sales service and maintenance technicians and heavy truck drivers.
 
These were followed by customer advisors, train drivers, skilled construction workers, administrative assistants, production officers, electricians and personal care assistants. 
 
Ile-de-France
 
Meanwhile in the greater Paris region of Ile-de-France, which has 12 million inhabitants, the jobs that saw the highest level of recruitment were of a slightly different nature to those elsewhere in the country. 
 
In top place were pre-school assistants followed by teachers and administrative assistants, reflecting the less industrial nature of the region. 
 
Making up the rest of the top ten were after-sales maintenance technicians, mechanics, accountants, customer advisors, personal care assistants, field salespeople — salespeople who are responsible for contacting and selling goods and services to customers in their place of business or residence — and sales assistants. 
 
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Photo: AFP
 
Brittany 
 
The northwestern region of Brittany saw the highest levels of recruitment in the after-sales service and maintenance technician, mechanic and train driver professions.
 
These were followed by production officers, order pickers, customer advisors, skilled construction workers, personal care assistants, salespeople and HR consultants.
 
Pays de la Loire
 
In the Pays de la Loire, which has over 3.7 million inhabitants, the three jobs for which the most people were hired, according to the survey, were after-sales maintenance technicians, mechanics and production officers. 
 
Hot on the heels of these were train drivers, order pickers, pre-school assistants, customer advisors, skilled construction workers, HR consultants and personal care assistants. 
 
Centre-Val de Loire
 
The staff that were the most sought after in 2018 in the Centre-Val de Loire region, located in the centre of northern France, were mechanics, after-sales service and maintenance technicians and customer advisors. 
 
These were followed by similar jobs to the other regions, with train drivers, production officers, heavy truck drivers, admin assistants, personal care assistants, order pickers and teachers also highly sought after in the region in 2018. 
 
READ ALSO:
Photo: AFP
 
Bourgogne-Franche Comté
 
In 2018 the most sought after employees in this central-eastern French region were mechanics, after-sales service technicians and production officers. 
 
But if you're a train driver, customer advisor, order picker, heavy truck driver, field salesperson, shop assistant or admin assistant then people with your experience were also high in demand. 
 
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
 
If you're looking for work and live in France's largest region Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the south west, like other regions mechanics are highly sought after. 
 
Following on to make up the top ten were after-sales service technicians, production officers,  heavy truck drivers, customer advisors, personal care assistants, skilled construction workers, admin assistants, shop assistants and field salespeople. 
 
Auvergne-Rhône Alpes
 
By this point, the three most sought after professionals in the Auvergne-Rhône Alpes are unlikely to come as a surprise, with after-sales service technicians followed by mechanics and product officers taking the top three spots. 
 
Making up the rest of the top ten were admin assistants, train drivers, customer advisors, personal care assistants, shop assistants and truck drivers. 
 
Photo: AFP
 
Occitanie
 
Similarly in the southern region of Occitanie, it was mechanics who were most sought after in 2018, followed by pre-school assistants and after-sales service technicians. 
 
Customer advisors, personal care assistants, heavy truck drivers, admin assistants, after-sales service technicians, shop assistants and field salesperson made up the rest of the top ten. 
 
Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur
 
Mechanics are also in high demand in the sunny Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, taking the top spot here too. 
 
Coming in second and third were pre-school assistants and personal care assistants, followed by after-sales service technicians, customer advisors, admin assistants, shop assistants, teachers, heavy truck drivers and accountants. 
 
Corsica
 
Perhaps unsurprisingly it was mechanics who were the most sought after professionals in Corsica in 2018 followed by customer advisors and, more unusually, sports coaches came in second and third place, respectively.
 
These were followed by admin assistants, shop assistants, after-sales maintenance technicians, heavy truck drivers, food service staff, and again, unusually for the survey doctors came ninth followed by cooks in tenth position. 
 

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WORKING IN FRANCE

How to get a summer job in France

As the summer holidays approach in France, many employers are looking for seasonal workers - so if you're looking for a summer job, here's how to go about it.

Published: 25 May 2022 13:15 CEST
How to get a summer job in France

There are thousands of employment offers in France – a simple internet search for jobs d’été came up with numerous jobs boards offering work in France, while the government-backed Centre d’Information et de Documentation pour la Jeunesse (CIDJ) offers advice and information on all aspects of life for young people in France, including finding seasonal work and summer placements.

Sectors including agriculture, hospitality and tourism are always recruiting in the summer, seeking fruit-pickers, holiday camp workers and serving/hotel staff.

But what are the rules for people seeking summer jobs?

READ ALSO Vendange: What you really sign up for when you agree to help with the French wine harvest

Age

Children from the age of 16 (under certain circumstances, the age limit drops to 14) who are legally resident in France can work as long as they have written authorisation from their parents or legal guardians. A model authorisation letter is available here. 

Those under the age of 18 cannot undertake certain jobs for health and safety reasons.

In the following circumstances, children as young as 14 or 15 can work during school holidays.

  • The holidays must last at least 14 days;
  • The child must work no more than half the days of the holiday – so, if a vacation period is two weeks, they can work for no more than one of those weeks;
  • The child is given ‘light duties’ that offer no risk to their safety, health, or development;
  • From the age of 15 and if the child has completed their troisieme education, a minor can register for an apprenticeship. 

Salary

Salary is usually paid monthly and will have a payslip. For those aged 18 and over, pay will be at least equal to the minimum wage.

 For those aged 14 to 17, who have less than six months’ professional experience, the minimum allowed rate is 80 percent of the minimum wage. For those aged 17 to 18, the rate rises to a minimum of 90 percent of France’s minimum wage.

  • The minimum wage in France is currently €10.85 gross per hour (€1,645.58 gross per month based on a 35-hour week);
  • the employment contract is fixed-term and can take different forms (fixed-term contract, seasonal employment contract, temporary employment contract, etc);
  • Seasonal employees are subject to the same obligations as the other employees of the company and have access to the same benefits (canteens, breaks, etc.).

Under 18s have certain additional protections:

  • between the ages of 14 and 16, during school holidays, employees on any contract cannot work more than 35 hours per week nor more than 7 hours per day;
  • They cannot work at night;
  • Those aged 14 to under 16 working during their school holidays can only be assigned to work which is not likely to harm their safety, their health or development.

Right to work in France

If you’re a French citizen or hold permanent residency in France then you have the right to work, but for foreigners there are extra restrictions.

Anyone who holds the passport of a EU/EEA country or Switzerland, is free to work in France or to travel to France seeking work without needing a visa or work permit.

Most other people will need permission to work in France – even if it’s only for a short period or for casual work such as grape-picking. Depending on your country of origin you may need a visa – everything you need to know about that is here.

In addition to the visa, you may also need a work permit, which is the responsibility of the employer.  To employ anyone in France for less than 90 days, an employer must get a temporary work permit – before the prospective employee applies for a short stay visa. This permit is then sent to the embassy at which the employee is applying for a visa.

If you come from countries including the UK, USA and Canada you can spend up to 90 days in France without a visa – but you may still need a work (convention d’accueil) if you want to work while you are here.

READ ALSO Six official websites to know if you’re planning to work in France

Certain countries have specific ‘seasonal worker’ visas on offer, for certain sectors which allows – for example – Canadians to come to France and work the ski season. 

Cash-in-hand jobs

Certain sectors which have a lot of casual workers – for example seasonal fruit-picking – do have cash-in-hand jobs, known in France as marché noir (black market) or simply travail au black (working on the black, or working illegally). 

This is of course illegal and working this way carries risks – as well as the possibility of losing your job if labour inspectors turn up you are also in a vulnerable position. If your employer suddenly decides not to pay you, or make unexpected deductions from your wages, there is very little you can do about it since you won’t have any kind of work contract. 

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