Cooperation has a new
lease of life with the international voluntary service
With the ending of
national military service in 2001, one particular type of person has also disappeared: the
"coopérant". Between 1965, when the function was created, and 2000, over
150,000 young men fulfilled their national service by working abroad in an embassy, a
cultural centre, a private firm or a humanitarian organisation as an alternative to
military service. With the abolition of conscription, the "coopérant du service
national" (CSN) has been replaced by the "volontaire international" (VI),
international volunteer, with a newly defined role.
By Elodie Maillot, journalist
In the middle of the green campus of the
University of Kingston (Jamaica), facing the sun-drenched ridges of the Blue Mountains,
Fabien Beullens is correcting the latest papers of his students of French. In Jamaica
since September 2001, he is achieving one of his dreams – to work abroad. This young
Frenchman is one of the first to have benefited from the new status of international
volunteer, created by the law of 14 March 2000 and in effect since 14 July 2001. "I
was going to work as a "coopérant", but in the meantime military service has
been abolished and the Ministry of Defence asked me if I was still interested in going
abroad. Without a second thought, I signed up for twenty-four months with the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, even though it means not completing my DEA (postgraduate diploma), and
now I’m really glad I took the opportunity!" this enthusiastic traveller tells
us. Like the tens of thousands of other young people who apply each year, he knows that
having work experience abroad on one’s curriculum vitae is a considerable asset.
To meet the growing demand for temporary
work abroad, international voluntary service seems an attractive solution, as it makes it
possible for people to go abroad with a guaranteed opportunity to work in an organisation.
Private or public sector? The
choice is up to the volunteers
Set up at the initiative of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and the Department of
international cooperation, international voluntary service aims to update the old forms of
national voluntary service, whilst ensuring it fits in with the volunteer’s civilian
life. So this voluntary service scheme is now open to young women, to students with at
least a CAP (vocational training qualification) and to European Economic Area (EEA)
nationals aged between eighteen and twenty-eight. In addition, this contract now offers
those going abroad a flexible period of work of between six and twenty-four months and,
unlike traditional voluntary workers or conscripts, the volunteer is paid. He or she may
receive between 1,000 and 3,000 euros per month, depending on the location and the job.
Following the example of the old CSN, international volunteers can work in French
companies abroad (they are then called "VIE" "volontaires internationaux en
entreprise" - in-company international volunteers) or in the French diplomatic and
cooperation service (they are then called "VIA" "volontaires internationaux
en administration" - public sector international volunteers).
Like nearly a thousand young people a year
who become VIAs, Fabien Beullens chose the second option. For around 1,500 euros a month,
this young graduate divides his time between teaching in an educational institution and at
the University of Kingston (which provides him with comfortable accommodation on the
campus) and working as an assistant to the cultural adviser of the French Embassy in
Kingston.
For Yann Lorvo, in charge of vetting VIA
applications, the idea that volunteers are limited to teaching jobs is a thing of the
past. "In the context of a new kind of cooperation, we now have a very broad and
flexible range of opportunities in terms of geographical areas and skills," he says
with enthusiasm. "We have volunteers working in technical cooperation jobs, others
working in major international organisations such as the European Commission. Around
thirty VIs are employed in the broadcasting sector, in the media, or in training
journalists in Cambodia or Qatar, for example."
The success of working abroad:
opening one’s eyes to the world
Opportunities to work in business are also
very diverse, since any French organisation based abroad may offer a VIE contract. The
scheme is proving to be a growing success. The number of volunteers who have gone to work
abroad has increased from less than a thousand in 2001 to over two thousand in 2002, with
almost 40,000 people applying, most of them graduates of a business school or with three
years of higher education. Ubifrance, the body replacing the French agency for promoting
the technologies of French companies abroad (formerly CFME-Actim), helps them with the
administrative procedures, advises them before they leave and is responsible for paying
their salaries. "I didn’t feel capable of going off abroad on my own just like
that, but I really wanted to have experience of working in Europe. VIE was the best
solution." is the view of Hélène, an engineer who has just landed a job in London
working for an industrial packaging company. She will get a company car and a salary of
2,500 euros a month for twelve months.
This is an attractive scheme because it
allows companies looking for talented young people to try out potential recruits on the
job, without having to pay social security contributions, before offering them a permanent
position.
(Courtesy: Label France, magazine
N° 51 – July 2003, Embassy of France, Kathmandu) |
