THE GRANDE ÉCOLE PROGRAM, A CURRICULUM PRIZED BY RECRUITERS
The choice of your orientation is crucial. You need to choose a program that will allow you to achieve your professional goals, but that also provides access to job opportunities. And the Grande École Program (PGE) is the perfect answer! It prepares you for positions of responsibility in a professional manner. While the health crisis has had an impact on the integration of students into the job market, the PGE graduates of the class of 2021 have benefited from an economy that is once again favorable, with job opportunities at pre-crisis levels. ICD Business School offers you an update on the integration of graduates thanks to the latest survey by the Conférence des Grandes Ecoles.
The Grande Ecole Program, a 5-year degree program, prepares you in an optimal way for your future functions. It remains highly prized by recruiters.
A RECORD EMPLOYMENT RATE FOR 20 YEARS!
After two years of turbulence, young graduates of the grandes écoles are once again benefiting from a context that is favorable to their employability, a point confirmed by Nicolas Glady, President of the Downstream Commission of the Conférence des grandes écoles (CGE): "We are clearly in a context of economic recovery that is favorable to employment, particularly for executives.”
According to Apec's study "2021, executive recruitment close to the pre-crisis record level", the job offer for executives has been revitalized, with growth of 18% compared to 2020, thus returning to almost its pre-crisis level. And this context is particularly beneficial to young graduates with 5 years of higher education who are entering the job market (+36% for the recruitment of entry-level executives with less than one year of experience and +19% for those with 1 to 5 years).
We are currently witnessing a record employment rate, 89.8%, and this has been the case for over 20 years! The employment rate has increased by 11 points over the previous year, while the proportion of young people looking for work has dropped from 17.7% to 8.7%.
The economic context and the job market have thus become favorable again for graduates of the Grande École Program entering the job market. Anne-Lucie Wack, former President of the CGE, confirms this: "We can thus once again see the extent to which the Grandes Écoles diploma is a safe bet and a passport to employment, even in times of exceptional crisis.
FASTER INTEGRATION
Graduates of the 2021 Grande Ecole Program benefit from optimal and, above all, rapid professional integration. Indeed, more than 8 out of 10 graduates have found a job in less than two months.
Even better: more than two-thirds of them signed a contract before graduation!
MORE SECURE JOBS
Thanks to its excellent and professionalizing program, the PGE allows direct access to jobs with responsibility but also security. It should be noted that 81.8% of graduates are hired on permanent contracts and 86.1% have executive status. Here again, the CGE study shows that the pre-crisis level has been regained (after a 5.1 point drop observed in 2021).
SATISFIED YOUNG GRADUATES
In addition to these encouraging figures for the employability of young business school graduates, it is also important to know that 84% of them are satisfied with their jobs! The study shows that 90.1% of young graduates are satisfied with their jobs and their qualifications.
FOCUS ON WORK-STUDY PROGRAMS, A LEVER FOR EMPLOYABILITY
Work-study programs have been very successful: 718,000 contracts were signed in 2021, an increase of 37% in one year. It represented 20.6% of graduates in 2021 (compared to 18.9% the previous year) and even 36% of business school graduates.
This program has many advantages and is now considered a formidable professional springboard thanks to its alternating rhythm between school and company. Recruiters are therefore very sensitive to these profiles, which are operational as soon as they graduate. In fact, the net employment rate of work-study students less than 6 months after graduation is 90%! Similarly, 74.7% of them are working, compared with 73.3% of all graduates.
THE END OF THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF THE CRISIS ON SALARIES
The CGE study shows that young graduates' salaries have also returned to their pre-crisis level, with an average gross annual salary of 36,551 euros (excluding bonuses), an increase of 3.1% in one year. A constant upward trend is indeed noticed.
THE WAR FOR TALENT, A FACTOR THAT FAVORS THE UPWARD TREND IN SALARIES
The new president of the CGE, Laurent Champaney, points out in the study that there is a "very big shortage of skills" in many sectors (insurance, banking, consulting, industry, etc.). This is why, according to him, recruiters "are ready to do anything to attract young people," starting with attractive salary policies.
The upward trend in salaries can be explained in particular by "the stress of recruiting" and "this will accelerate" according to him.
ICD BUSINESS SCHOOL, ALONGSIDE ITS STUDENTS
The CGE barometer highlights the numerous measures implemented by the Grandes Ecoles to mitigate the effects of the crisis. They have shown agility, responsiveness and resilience so that students can continue their education effectively.
This is notably the case of the ICD Business School, which has done everything possible for its students, including those in its Grande Ecole program. The teams have mobilized to offer online courses using digital and collaborative tools, but also to accompany each student through this complex and anxiety-provoking period (personalized psychological follow-up has also been set up).
Similarly, virtual job dating was organized to maintain internships and work-study programs, while individual support towards employment was offered by the Business Relations Department and the "Start me up Career" program.
This mobilization of all involved enabled students to continue their Grande École Program, so that they could be operational as soon as they graduated!