Graduate Employment Program

The Graduate Employment Program (PED) is a pre-employment internship scheme for young graduates without professional experience seeking employment. It is based on a cost-sharing mechanism between FNE and partner companies, allowing young people to gain first-hand experience while being remunerated.

Youth unemployment, particularly among graduates, has serious social consequences. Key contributing factors include:

• Limited economic absorption capacity relative to growing job demand;
• Underutilized employment opportunities within the country;
• Employer requirement for immediately operational workforce with prior professional experience;
• Inadequate alignment of the educational system with labor market needs;
• Approximately 70% of youth entering the job market lack vocational qualifications.

The PED aims to facilitate the professional insertion of inexperienced graduates by:

• Leveraging employment opportunities through worker qualification;
• Creating pathways into productive sectors for young people;
• Reducing graduate unemployment rates;
• Encouraging companies to recruit young people by sharing training costs.

The PED targets:

• Young graduates without professional experience;
• Job seekers registered with FNE;
• Holders of technical, professional or university diplomas;
• People seeking first experience in their field of training.

The program operates on a collaborative 'training/pre-employment' model:

• Cost-sharing: FNE and the host enterprise share intern remuneration costs equally (50/50);
• Streamlined process: 1. Enterprise submits habilitation request to FNE; 2. FNE assesses enterprise hosting capacity; 3. Program activated upon approval;
• Adapted duration: internship period defined based on graduate profile and company needs;
• Follow-up: FNE advisor regularly monitors internship progress.

PED financing is based on an equitable sharing mechanism:

• FNE covers 50% of the intern's remuneration;
• The host enterprise pays the remaining 50%;
• This mechanism significantly reduces recruitment costs for the employer while guaranteeing income for the intern;
• FNE intermediation services (selection, monitoring, advice) are completely free for both parties.

For young graduates:

• Acquisition of a first professional experience;
• Remuneration during the internship period;
• Possibility of permanent recruitment at the end of the internship;
• Development of professional network. For companies:
• Reduced recruitment costs (50% of salary covered by FNE);
• Access to a pool of pre-selected young graduates;
• Contribution to training the future generation of workers;
• Support and monitoring by FNE advisors.