PPR and the Télémaque Institute rally together in favour of upward social mobility

As the education system has difficulties to promote the talents of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, PPR has intervened, alongside the Télémaque Institute, to support talented and highly motivated young people who do not have the means to achieve their ambitions. Let’s take stock of the progress made by this innovative approach.

 

In France today, the child of a workman has, on average, 7 times less chance of accessing higher education than the child of a top executive or a teacher. Moreover, if 30% of pupils holding the French baccalauréat (A.Level equivalent) with distinction prepare for competitive entrance examinations to the best higher education institutions in France, only 12% of those pupils come from a working-class background.
It is this flagrant disparity in the school curriculum between pupils from different social backgrounds that is at the origin of the creation of the Télémaque Institute. This association saw the light of day in 2005, as the result of an initial endowment by PPR. Since then, the Group has remained an active and favoured partner of Télémaque.

“Addressed at school pupils in priority education zones (ZEP) and trainees in professional training, explains Gaëlle Simon, Managing Director of Télémaque, the Institute aims to give them all the chances that they deserve. Our objective is to help them pass the baccalauréat with a 70 to 80% pass or 80% upwards, and to provide them with vocational guidance in the best possible conditions.”

Human contact and assistance is at the heart of the Télémaque approach. Indeed, once a young person has been selected by partnering school establishments, he or she benefits from individual monitoring in terms of personal development and education, and this is due to a double educational package. Uniting the worlds of school and the work place, this double educational package brings together an educational referent, a member of the school establishment and an enterprise tutor.

 

A voluntary worker of one of the 14 partner companies, the tutor plays a vital role in assisting the pupil. Isabelle Léon, Press Relations Manager of Cyrillus/Verbaudet/Somewhere (Redcats Group) is one of the 29 employees of the PPR Group who became a tutor. ‘I have been a sponsor for three years now of Morgane, a pupil in 3ème (Year 9) and my role as a tutor works on two different levels. On an educational level on the one hand, as I monitor Morgane’s results and help her to think about her personal career objectives and what direction she wishes to take; Morgane also did an internship discovering different jobs at Verbaudet. On a socio-cultural level on the other hand, as I take her on outings to broaden her cultural horizons. We went together to see a ‘battle’ between street dancers, a classical ballet and we also spent a very enjoyable day at SolidarCité Redcats’s Sport Day."

 

Today, almost 200 voluntary workers ensure this role. The tutor’s involvement is largely compatible with a professional and family life: in addition to the meetings and regular contact with the pupil, there is also an end-of-term meeting between the educational referent and the pupil. ‘The benefits of Télémaque are considerable for the pupil. In the course of the meetings, he or she will receive guidance on school courses, further studies and professional training, opening up to different cultures and reinforcing the pupil’s self confidence,” adds Isabelle Léon.

 

Beyond human assistance, the young people will also benefit from funding thanks to the support of 14 voluntary companies, including the PPR Group. This sum, which is paid to the school establishment, enables the young person to take intensive courses, participate in language study trips and even enjoy cultural and sporting activities. Today, almost 200 young people benefit from the support of Télémaque, compared to 35 when the project was first launched.

 

More information on the Télémaque Institute and the educational package