“We are going to meet the people of the elves.†The sentence does not come from a fantasy novel, but was uttered during professional training. Certain training courses financed by France Travail are cause for concern. The magazine Complément d’enquêtebroadcast this Thursday, April 9 on France 2, revealed personal development courses with surprising promises to say the least, mixing bien-être, spiritualité… et créatures imaginaires such as gnomes, unicorns or elves.
The report highlights a booming sector: that of so-called well-being or personal development training, sometimes partially financed by public funds, and whose objectives raise questions about their suitability with professional integration systems. In some cases, job seekers are offered internships with surprising titles, such as “Meeting the beings of nature”. The journalists thus followed two-day training organizations in Normandie, factories and surroundings 300 euroswhere participants were invited to “set off to meet the people of the elves” and a certain “elven king” nommé On the mountain.
Up to 60% of turnover
On the program: palpation of energy fields, activation of magical codes or even dialogue with invisible beings. An approach very far from traditional return-to-work schemes. In this course filmed on a hidden camera, the participants express their feelings directly. One woman states in particular that she believes in the presence of dragons in the sky and explains that she discovered this training through the services of France Travail, specifying that her advisor was in favor of it.
According to the elements collected by Complément d’enquêtecertain training structures would have benefited from significant financial support via France Travail. Between 2011 and 2020, up to 60% of turnover of a trainer interviewed would have been covered, for activities linked to magnetism, naturopathy or even animal communication, for a total estimated at 43 000 euros. Since 2021, the public body claims to have strengthened its selection criteria. France Travail supports several hundred thousand training courses each year, with increased vigilance over their content and professional usefulness.
Questioned by our colleagues on these practices, the general director of France Travail, Thibaut Guilluy, judged this training “quite surprising” et “a little far from the objectives” of the organization, which finances 300 000 Ã 400 000 formations.
