“Continuous training throughout life is a way to maintain one’s employability,” according to Valérie Gruau, founder of the seniorsavotreservice.com platform. And for seniors, retraining or relaunching their career is first and foremost about building on their skills to create a new professional stage. A challenging task, as age is the number one factor of discrimination in the job market. For Nicolas François, regional delegate of Apec in Centre-Val de Loire, “the key is not to stay alone because often the job change for seniors is more imposed than chosen”. The association therefore launched its Talents seniors program in 2019, rolled out in the region since 2023. Thus, for six to nine months, experienced executives benefit from the voluntary support of a mentor who shares their network and time.
Other players also focus on support. At Afpa in Tours, all training courses are open to individuals aged 16 to 77, with a skills Prep to assist those at the end of their careers in reassurance and daring to make a change. Meanwhile, France Travail offers several dedicated programs for seniors: Boost 50+ to help regain self-confidence and find employment; the Immersion platform allows for testing a new career through internships; the Atout senior program, a retraining scheme, involves a pedagogy alternating theory and practice and offers an eight-month support to find a new path.
Skills assessment, validation of acquired experience (VAE), use of CPF… many tools are available to take control of one’s career. The journey of Nicolas Jubert illustrates this. Laid off in April 2024 after eighteen years in the pharmaceutical industry as a regional director, he undergoes a skills assessment that highlights a strong inclination towards training. He then completes an eight-month course to become an adult trainer. In December 2025, he obtains a professional title at a bachelor’s +2 level, which enabled him to secure a position in February at the Pigier business school in Tours: “I lost a lot in salary. But being unemployed at 57 is to be on the fringes of society. This opportunity was a real ray of sunshine!”
