New Aquitaine and its cross-border neighbours: common disparities and challenges in relation to training and employment

Cross-border mobility in relation to training and employment

August 2020

Conseil économique, social et environnemental régional (CESER)

To download : 2_ceser_rapport_mobilite.pdf (1.2 MiB)

«  … Borders are the result of permanent dynamics between opening and closing, between international issues and local and regional cooperation. Border practices evolve over time according to general geopolitical contexts, but also according to political choices of whether or not to use the border as a resource » (François Moullé) ¹.

1.1 A cross-border neighbourhood in co-construction and with changing contours

In 2015, the territorial reform redefined the map of French territories, giving rise to new Regions and to the appearance of new borders that combine the previous delimitations ². Thus, the borders of New Aquitaine are the result of the merger of Limousin, Poitou-Charentes and Aquitaine. These new demarcations are part of a history of continuities, while at the same time creating the possibility of new cross-border dynamics for the new Neo-Aquitaine region, particularly with the neighbouring regions of Spain. Throughout these transformations, mobility, training and employment have been among the cooperation priorities for various actors. Their importance is confirmed today. In recent decades, European territorial cooperation has marked the cross-border dynamics contributing to their development and redrawing these dynamics. This is why this study pays particular attention to cooperation in the field of mobility in relation to training and employment within the New Aquitaine - Euskadi - Navarre Euroregion.

1.2 A Euroregion with disparities

1.2.1 Institutional and administrative

While Euskadi and Navarra enjoy a regime of internal autonomy, with wider competences than those attributed within the framework of administrative decentralisation and faster territorial decision-making processes adapted to local needs, the young region of New Aquitaine, with its four years of existence, feels a double tension in relation to the cross-border area. On the one hand, its competences are much less extensive than those of neighbouring regions and on the other hand, the need to find solutions to the concrete problems of the territory. This disparity hinders institutional cooperation in the field of training and employment, even though the practices of the actors abound. To this must be added the absence of a cross-border fiscal framework; a multiple and heterogeneous regulatory framework; a diversity of institutions with competences that are not always equivalent in neighbouring regions; and convergences that are difficult to identify between the different regulatory levels (regional, autonomous community, national and European) and between social protection systems that are also distinct ³. Another disparity to be noted is the timing of the different political, professional and trade union bodies ⁴ .

1.2.2 Economic

The economic models of the three Regions are different and there is little overlap: New Aquitaine’s economy is based on the market and non-market tertiary sectors and very little on industry. In contrast, the weight of industry in the economy of Euskadi and Navarre is much greater ⁵. From a macroeconomic point of view, Navarra’s development path is different to that of New Aquitaine and the Basque Country. In fact, its strategy of economic specialisation has favoured professional groupings, while Navarra was later in the process of creating clusters. The professional groups have a double aspect: professional support such as lobbying to advance regulations for example, and a commercial aspect. Whereas a cluster is more focused on the economic development and innovation of its members ⁶.

1.3 … and common assets…

1.3.1 Economic complementarities

Until the end of 2019, the economies of three Regions were responding well to the global trend of economic slowdown caused to a large extent by the tensions between China and the United States and the uncertainty caused by the Brexit. Thus, New Aquitaine closed 2019 with 1.3% growth and higher job creation than the rest of France ⁷. For the same year, Navarre posted a growth rate of 2% and 11,000 jobs created, and Euskadi’s regional GDP increased by 2.2% in 2019, creating 27,000 jobs over the two years ⁸. At the Euroregional level, the arrival of Navarre brings economic sectors that complement the economic dynamics of the Euroregion. In Euskadi, where the industrial fabric is very important, there are also important energy and IT centres.

Navarra brings an agri-food cluster, a health cluster with establishments ranked among the best in Europe, and a complementary energy cluster (Navarra is efficient in on-shore wind energy, whereas in Euskadi, wave and marine energy are developed instead).

For New Aquitaine, this means a link with two territories in which it can find complementary customers, innovation, business flows, partners to carry out European projects, etc. This extension brings a diversity that widens the range of economic development opportunities for the three Regions⁹.

At the end of 2019, the recovery of employment was a general trend for the whole Euro-region. Euskadi and Navarre now have the lowest unemployment rate of all the Spanish autonomous communities ¹⁰ with 9.09% and 9.01% respectively. In New Aquitaine, the unemployment rate is also falling (8%), slightly below the national rate. Such a low level has not been reached since 2009. The regional dynamic of increasing demand and business creation is favourable to employment.

Existing exchanges and cooperation between companies in the traditional economy and between players in the social and solidarity economy in the three Regions¹¹, and the possibility of carrying out analyses on specialisation strategies and economic convergence¹² are all elements of the Euroregional added value.

Furthermore, the field of complementarity is expanding given the importance of alternative energies, digitalisation and the circular economy in the future economic strategies of the three Regions in a context of digital and energy transition. The social and solidarity economy and the development of the silver economy sector also open up prospects for cooperation and the strengthening of complementarities¹³ for the whole of the Neo-Aquitaine territory, as shown by the presence of a home automation and health cluster in Greater Guéret (Creuse).

1.3.2 A human capital and an environment favourable to innovation

Since 2012, the population of New Aquitaine has been increasing as a result of strong attractiveness (on average 0.5% per year) ¹⁴. In Euskadi, the population has increased by 4.79% between 2000 and 2018. The population of Navarre has increased by 19.09% in the same period. However, this demographic dynamism must be qualified by regional disparities (for example, more than half of the municipalities in Navarre have lost population during this period, and there are up to 45 localities where this demographic decline exceeds 25% of the population ¹⁵ ). In New Aquitaine, the Gironde, home to one out of every four new inhabitants, is the 7th most populated department in France, while the Creuse is the second last in this ranking ¹⁶.

According to the diagnosis of employment in the New Aquitaine - Euskadi - Navarre Euroregion, the level of education of the population of the Euroregion is high and exceeds the European average. Specifically, in 2016, 31% of the population of New Aquitaine aged 25 to 64 had at least higher education, 49% in Euskadi and 44.5% in Navarre, compared to an average of 31% in the European Union. The situation of the three regions differs with regard to intermediate qualifications. While New Aquitaine slightly exceeds the European average (49% of its population aged 25 to 64 has studied at levels III and/or IV of the European Qualifications Framework, compared to 46% in the European Union as a whole), the Basque Country and Navarre have a deficit of people with these levels of certification (22% and 23% of the population).

The panorama of the Euroregion’s human capital would not be complete without mentioning its cultural, linguistic and associative wealth.

Thus :

• Euskera, Occitan, Spanish and French are the regional languages commonly used, and foreign languages, linked to old immigration such as Spanish in New Aquitaine or recent ones such as Portuguese or Arabic, or to professional needs, such as English, are also practised.

• A rich and long-standing cross-border practice, particularly in the Basque country, gives rise to a strong dynamic of local actors who initiate (in fields as varied as the economy, research, education and training, culture, development aid, etc.) numerous projects with a European and international dimension¹⁷.

1.3.3 Highly developed cultural exchanges rooted in history

Cultural exchanges between the populations close to the border are highly developed and historically rooted. As such, they represent a fundamental asset for cross-border cooperation. The creation of the Euroregion generates the conditions for a rapprochement between the populations of a larger territory. The better knowledge of the territories that make up the Euroregion, including the cultural and artistic aspects, multiplies the possibilities of exchanges. It also makes it possible to become aware of a common belonging to a Euroregion and of common challenges and points. Cross-border cooperation around culture and the arts, at all levels, is crucial to develop a « Euroregional citizenship ». The latter is, in turn, essential for cooperation on training and employment, in its broad thematic range.

1.3.4 A European and international institutional framework favourable to regional action

The European Union’s international guidelines give an increasingly important place to local authorities ¹⁸. The « New European Consensus on Development », signed in 2017, also calls for a comprehensive approach to development issues including areas of local government competence and widens the circle of stakeholders in development policies. At the international level, from the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action (2005) to the 2030 Agenda, which sets out 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to meet the challenges of globalisation based on the three components of sustainable development (environment, social and economy), there have been significant changes in international cooperation and development aid practices. Thus, many of the SDGs are (in whole or in part) the responsibility of local policies in many countries, including France (education, health, environment, equal opportunities, economic growth, industry-innovation-infrastructure, etc.).

1.3.5 Assets for coping with the effects of climate change

The Euregional coast has real potential in the various marine renewable energy technologies. New Aquitaine and the Basque Country combine various assets: an industrial fabric in the sector, scientific and technological expertise and test centres, among others¹⁹.

In its latest strategic plan, the Euroregion recalls the need to develop an integrated transnational policy for territorial planning and the articulation of concrete perspectives to avoid blockages and remove obstacles. Thus, the development of renewable energy production will require the creation of training and professionalisation channels, more particularly for the creation and operation of energy production units from biomass and geothermal energy; training of building professionals, etc. in order to develop the fabric of craftsmen competent in thermal renovation²⁰.

1.4 … facing common challenges

1.4.1 The ageing of the population

The ageing of the population is a phenomenon that combines a low birth rate, a falling mortality rate and an increasingly long life expectancy. This phenomenon, which is present throughout Europe, is at its most intense in the New Aquitaine - Euskadi - Navarra Euroregion. As the oldest region in France in 2016, New Aquitaine should see the ageing of its population continue. More than a third of the population would be at least 60 years old and the number of seniors would even outnumber those under 30 by 2023 ²¹. The Basque Country is one of the autonomous communities with the highest proportion of elderly people (22% over 65 years old) and with a decreasing youth population. The stagnation of the volume of young foreigners residing in the Basque Country, late motherhood and the low fertility rate will not help to mitigate this trend in the coming years²².

Navarra, on the other hand, has an ageing population of 19.5%. In 33 Navarrese municipalities, there are no children aged between 0 and 4 among the inhabitants, and at least 22 municipalities have fewer than 100 inhabitants²³.

Ageing as such is not a problem. The elderly population, just as heterogeneous as the other age groups, contributes and will continue to contribute to the economic, social, cultural and associative life of its community.

Thus, the region of New Aquitaine, through its Roadmap for Ageing Well, wishes to involve older people in prevention/health activities. Navarra, with its « Strategy for Active and Healthy Ageing », advocates participation, continuous training, access to health services, safe housing, etc. among the measures to be taken to promote ageing with maximum functional capacity and a better quality of life, so that older people remain active, autonomous and independent for as long as possible²⁴. Each of these measures offers opportunities for cooperation within the Euroregion, provided that they also aim to adapt training and skills to new contexts (digital, robotics, home automation, etc.).

However, it must also be recognised that for a section of this population, health is deteriorating and may result in a loss of autonomy and an increase in dependence, aggravated by economic insecurity and the loss of medical and social support in the territories ²⁵. The ageing of the population therefore raises serious challenges in the field of health. For example, in the Euroregion, cancer is becoming the main cause of death; it is already the cause of 30% of deaths among the elderly. According to experts, in 30 years’ time, this chronic disease will affect at least 50% of people over 75 ²⁶. In New Aquitaine, the number of elderly people suffering from loss of autonomy is expected to increase by 22% between now and 2030, even if this proportion is stabilised by the arrival of the baby-boomer generations and the resulting rejuvenation of the elderly population. From 2030 onwards, the effect will be the opposite: the number of people aged 85 or over will increase by 89% between 2030 and 2050 ²⁷. Euroregional cooperation has already been set up with the creation of a gerontopole which aims to bring together researchers, teachers, institutions and local authorities concerned by the issue, care establishments, accommodation structures such as independent living facilities, home help organisations, living-labs, the Development and Innovation Agency and economic players²⁸. Other areas of cooperation are still possible. For example, in the coming years there will also be a huge need for professionals in the health and care of the elderly on both sides of the border²⁹. The added value of cross-border mobility in this sector should be highlighted. Cooperation on the mobility of care assistants, for example, can contribute to meeting the specific needs of the territory through knowledge of health systems, the acquisition of a specific multilingual vocabulary, and knowledge of the cultural and sociological particularities of people and care teams. It also offers the opportunity to enrich technical skills³⁰. Cooperation on mobility in connection with training and employment in this sector should also aim to enhance the value of health and autonomy professions in order to reduce staff turnover, which is often linked to professional wear and tear and the resulting sick leave ³¹.

1.4.2 Global warming and biodiversity loss

The regional scale is a particularly suitable level for measuring the impacts of climate change on the ground. For example, New Aquitaine has carried out coherent scientific studies to observe the effects of climate change in situ (scientific report « Acclimaterra »), as well as the link between the regional economy and biodiversity (scientific report « Ecobiose »). In these two reports, it became clear that, on the one hand, the territories that make up the region are facing socio-economic and environmental changes that need to be supported and that, on the other hand, the local level is particularly well suited to enabling public authorities, local authorities, associations, companies and citizens to act effectively by getting involved in their territory and in the issues that concern them.

The regional consequences of global warming are already evident in the form of extreme weather events, such as heat or cold waves, droughts, storms, episodes of heavy precipitation, etc.; the trend towards an increase in the extent of agricultural droughts; the rise in sea level, which makes coastal areas fragile; changes in forest ecosystems, making them more vulnerable to hurricanes and storms; threats to health; etc. Each of these risks has

Each of these risks has an economic and social dimension that should not be overlooked ³². The Ecobiose report draws attention to the negative effect of intensification of agricultural practices, landscape uniformity and the introduction of invasive species on the rich biological diversity of arable, wine and forest ecosystems³³.

Risk prevention, mitigation and adaptation are the watchwords of a regional strategy for climate change resilience and biodiversity conservation. However, Acclimaterra stresses the dependence of the regional climate on the global climate and the fact that « New Aquitaine does not therefore have all the elements that could enable it to fight against the current change on its own » and therefore « must participate in international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, since the gases it emits go everywhere on the planet ». On the subject of cross-border cooperation, the report notes that « since the causes and effects of climate change are by nature indifferent to borders, cross-border cooperation logically appears to be part of the solution for dealing with it » ³⁴.

Indeed, the effects on the climatic, hydrological, environmental and landscape characteristics of the Pyrenean bio-region, common to the three regions making up the New Aquitaine - Euskadi - Navarre EGTC ³⁵ and the concern for the consequences of the 2009 storm that affected the forestry operations of the former Aquitaine Euskadi and Navarra ³⁶, to mention just two examples, confirm the need to « join forces for more effective action on a more appropriate spatial scale » ³⁷.

The mobilisation of local actors on European territorial cooperation actions is envisaged by the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, in the framework of actions for biodiversity and aquatic environments, aiming to encourage biodiversity, re-establish species and better manage all resources (Neo Terra). As for professional training, particularly in the energy renovation sector, the Region already has some tools aimed at deploying territorial platforms proposing, among other things, training actions for building professionals (Regional programme for the energy efficiency of buildings). In the field of health, the report underlines the need to develop training and education offers for young people in environmental health, but also for professionals in education, health, agriculture, urban planning and all professionals who must be aware of the issues. Nevertheless, efforts still need to be made, particularly to successfully change agricultural practices, especially in large-scale farming, where institutional resources for support and training, seen as essential, are sometimes lacking³⁸.

In this respect, the CESER welcomed the inclusion of education, training and guidance among the ambitions announced by the Neo Terra roadmap, considering in particular that all information and training opportunities that enable young people to be reached on issues of environmental education, nature protection and biodiversity must be accessible³⁹. International cooperation on training and employment could support the emergence of the skills needed to implement all these actions, as well as others related to the promotion of sustainable forestry, for example, and, globally, in connection with the agricultural transition.

1.4.3 Precarious work

The Nouvelle-Aquitaine region is committed to the Agenda 2030 strategy, the French roadmap for implementing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. For CESER Nouvelle-Aquitaine, SDG 8 « Promote sustained, shared and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all », among others, insists on taking into account the individual and allows for the integration of environmental issues ⁴⁰. It seems relevant to link this reflection to the cooperation efforts carried out by New Aquitaine and its neighbours in the Euroregion in terms of economic development. Indeed, despite strong regional economies accompanied by job creation, as we have seen in part 1.3, recent trends which see the proliferation of temporary contracts and increasing polarisation in terms of qualifications and remuneration, place France and Spain among the European countries with the highest rates of precarious employment, well above the European average, as shown in the following diagram.

In the Euroregion, the rate of temporary employment has continued to increase. Thus, in the Basque Country since 2009, it has reached one of the highest percentages of workers on temporary contracts in the European Union (25.9% and 14.2% respectively) ⁴¹.

In Navarre, the rate of temporary employment is 24% ⁴². From 2008 to 2016, the percentage of hires requiring primary or lower secondary education fell from 70% to 50%, while in those requiring upper secondary or higher education, it fell from 30% to 50%. In addition, a new social situation is growing: the working poor (42% of people at risk of poverty are active) ⁴³. Although New Aquitaine is not the region with the most difficult employment situation, its high share of precarious employment is a sign of a vulnerable population: it varies between 12.4% (Le Sablard in Limoges) and 40.4% (Montanou in Agen). The rate of precarious employment in priority neighbourhoods is much higher than in metropolitan France (26% compared to 21%)⁴⁴. In general, in France, the number of short-term contracts of limited duration is also increasing, such as fixed-term contracts of use (CDDU), contracts of less than one month that do not entitle the employee to paid leave or end-of-contract indemnity (known as precariousness indemnity), sometimes with the same company employing the same employee repeatedly. The first victims of this situation are employees with few qualifications and young people (among the under-25s, the rate of precariousness rose from 17% in 1982 to 54% in 2017) ⁴⁵. Employees on repeated very short-term contracts are penalised compared to employees on stable contracts in several ways: their income is lower, they have less access to vocational training, their prospects of moving into stable employment are limited and they also have more difficult access to bank credit and housing. The repetition of this type of contract affects their quality of life. Short-term contracts are not evenly distributed among the working population. Certain groups - young people, women, the lowest paid and least qualified - are more frequently affected by this form of employment⁴⁶.

In response to the precariousness of employment, experiments in job sharing are underway in New Aquitaine, either within a single sector or, as proposed by the Chamber of Agriculture, between several sectors. Indeed, forward-looking employment management, based on a territorial approach, would make it possible to better integrate training and skills development, while contributing to the sustainability of employment.

Strengthening skills through access to training could therefore help to increase the number of long-term contracts. Indeed, short-term contracts are very often filled by employees with little or no qualifications. By improving the qualifications and skills of employees and those who are very far from employment, training could give them access to less precarious contracts⁴⁷. It is nevertheless important to remember that the training-employability relationship is not automatic and that salaried employment is not the only form of employment available. Indeed, skills upgrading alone cannot compensate for the deficiencies of an increasingly polarised labour market⁴⁸. Self-employment, the upgrading of professions, the development of collective entrepreneurship in the form of cooperatives (Cooperatives of Activities and Employment), the securing of employment and decent working conditions, are equally important issues, which should be included in a politically supported territorial project for training and employment and, as such, the subject of cooperation, including cross-border cooperation.

1.5 Available tools

The following are examples of some of the tools available to cross-border cooperation partners in connection with training and employment, without claiming to be exhaustive.

European schemes

1.5.1 ERASMUS+

Erasmus is a European Union programme which came into force in 2014 and brings together former European education and training programmes. Beneficiaries are :

• Students enrolled in a higher education institution, from the second year of study and all apprentices, trainers or teachers.

• Organisations wishing to carry out a number of development and networking activities, in particular to improve the professional capacity of their staff, to strengthen their organisational capacity and to create transnational cooperation partnerships with organisations in other countries, in order to achieve innovative results or to exchange good practice. In this way, participating organisations can increase their capacity to operate internationally, improve their management practices, gain access to more projects and funding opportunities, improve their ability to prepare, manage and monitor projects and have a more attractive range of opportunities for students and educational staff.

Organisations should promote opportunities for educational and training mobility for students, staff, trainees, apprentices, volunteers, youth workers and young people.

Mid-term evaluation of ERASMUS+ :

An effective programme that deserves to be better funded A 2017 mid-term evaluation of the scheme highlights that, in terms of effectiveness, Erasmus+ promotes an increase in the level of vocational, social and language skills of beneficiaries, particularly for vocational students and adults in training. The programme also promotes innovative pedagogical practices, in particular through the integration of digital technology. It has also encouraged a redefinition of training reference frameworks and a rewriting of diplomas with a view to harmonisation at European level, which is conducive to student and professional mobility. Those who are furthest from mobility benefit most from the programme. In terms of efficiency, the size of the budget for the youth and education and training strands remains insufficient. The financial resources allocated annually to France are fully allocated and, for all that, many quality projects cannot be selected due to a lack of resources⁴⁹.

The evaluators note that Europe continues to be a « calling card » for applications to the Erasmus+ programme. However, the actors see this European dimension essentially through the prism of a bilateral relationship. This is particularly the case in border areas. Even within a Euroregion, actors struggle to develop multilateral projects which would probably lead each party involved to a better understanding of the European culture that the actors share.

ERASMUS+ is much more than an individual grant. It is a tool that can also support more global approaches allowing, for example, to produce a state of the art on vocational training in a specific sector and on a European scale. The Fields project offers a good example: subsidised by ERASMUS+ and carried out by a consortium of 30 partners from 12 European countries, it aims to develop the sharing of existing and future knowledge and skills on vocational training in the agricultural and agri-food sectors in the following three areas: - Digital technologies, digitalisation, big data and artificial intelligence - Sustainable agriculture, natural resources management and climate action - Bio-economy, circular economy and bio-based products. Fields plans to conduct research, in the form of an audit and analysis of existing training programmes, in order to « gather enough information to identify the skills gaps in current training and create ten new training profiles with new and relevant skills to meet current and future challenges » ⁵⁰.

1.5.2 EUROPEAN GATEWAY

European Gateway (2016-2019) is a European ERASMUS+ project which aims to improve the quality of training placements abroad by highlighting professional practices acquired by the trainee and transferred from one country to another during professional mobility. This is a strategic partnership involving eight organisations in five countries: France, Spain, Greece, Italy and Bulgaria. The aim is to develop open source tools to support high quality mobility in vocational training and to develop a sharing space where everyone can give their opinion on the added value. In France, the innovation is that it focuses on the transfer of professional practices and techniques carried out by the participants during international mobility. The project is managed by the Fédération régionale des Maisons rurales de la Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

European territorial cooperation schemes

1.5.3 POCTEFA

POCTEFA 2014-2020 is the acronym for the Interreg V-A Spain-France-Andorra Programme ⁵¹. It is a European cross-border cooperation programme created to promote the sustainable development of the border territories of the three countries and organised in a call for projects. It is the fifth generation of Community financial support intended to strengthen the economic and social integration of this border area⁵².

It has five priority axes:

1) Boosting innovation and competitiveness.

2) Promoting adaptation to climate change and risk prevention and management.

3) Promoting the protection, development and sustainable use of local resources.

4) Promote the mobility of goods and people.

5) To strengthen skills and inclusion within the territories. The Consorcio de la Comunidad de Trabajo de los Pyrenees (CTP) is the managing authority of the POCTEFA programme.

1.5.4 PyireneFP: supporting cross-border mobility in guidance and training in New Aquitaine

PyireneFP is a cross-border cooperation project bringing together the regions of Catalonia, Navarre, the Basque Country, Occitania and Nouvelle-Aquitaine (only the department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques) which aims to facilitate the professional integration of the public in the cross-border area through the creation of a coordinated vocational guidance and training area.

It is a continuation of the PIREFOP (Pyrénées Formation Professionnelle) and PIREMOBV (Pyrénées Mobilité) projects carried out previously. This project is co-financed by the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) as part of the Interreg V-A Spain-France-Andorra Programme (POCTEFA) 2014-2020.

The total budget is 1.98 million euros (65% ERDF / 35% partner regions). It is managed by the Pôle Formation Emploi of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. The trainers of the training organisations, the learners (as well as the accompanying teachers) and the guidance actors are the direct beneficiaries.

Objectives :

• To coordinate vocational information and guidance systems through the analysis of existing systems, the training of guidance actors in the vocational training and guidance systems of the partner Regions and the creation of a cross-border information and guidance network.

• Contribute to the emergence of joint vocational training offers by training vocational training and apprenticeship actors in the training and professional experience recognition systems of the partner Regions and by creating a cross-border training network promoting study and work placement mobility.

• Develop joint training offers (through ECVET⁵³ in particular).

The mobilities meet one of the following objectives: to study the training repositories and the identification of training courses that can be the subject of a certificate mobility: to enable pupils to carry out mobilities within the framework of training courses that lend themselves to the implementation of the ECVET approach and to contribute to the creation of a cross-border network of information and vocational guidance centres and spaces.

Regional instruments

New Aquitaine has also set up instruments to raise awareness, provide information and guidance, and support the international mobility of young people and professionals. Thus, the Regional Mobility Committee (COREMOB), jointly piloted by the State and the Region, has the task of coordinating and networking the many mobility players, whether they are organisers, guides or programme financiers throughout the region. The beneficiaries of its actions are schools, associations or local authorities in all the territories, but also collective reception structures for minors, structures specialising in mobility issues, youth structures and professionals.

In 2017, the So Coopération network initiated a participative reflexive approach of the actors of international youth mobility of the whole of New Aquitaine alongside COREMOB which resulted in a regional action plan containing more than 23 activities planned for the 2018/2020 triennium ⁵⁴.

1.5.5 « So Mobilité »

is a guidance service for young people, which aims to help them realise their international mobility project ⁵⁵. Developed in 2015 within the framework of the Fonds d’expérimentation pour la jeunesse (experimental fund for youth) by Pistes solidaires, the « So Mobilité » service puts young people in search of mobility in touch with offers of international mobility (volunteering, studies, internships, jobs, etc.) through: - a network of operators present in the territory who welcome young people for individual interviews; - an online platform that collects offers of educational mobility and selects them according to the needs of the young people interviewed ⁵⁶. Since 2019, the platform offering a network of around ten operators spread throughout the New Aquitaine region in order to provide a more local service, is managed by the New Aquitaine Regional Youth Information Centre (CRIJ).

1.5.6 Cross-border meeting days:

stemming from the « cross-border » commission, the first days were led by Ecocene and a Spanish partner, the Sargantana association. They took place in March 2019 in Canfranc, bringing together 40 French and Spanish structures. This dynamic should continue and avenues have been explored with Charente-Maritime to host the next JRT in 2020, but also with Euskadi Navarre (project led by the Antxeta Irratia association based in Hendaye).

1.5.7 EMPLEO

is an internet information platform set up by the Euroregion to provide information on cross-border employment in New Aquitaine - Euskadi - Navarre. EMPLEO is based on the work carried out by the Bidasoa-Txingudi cross-border consortium between Hendaye, Irun and Hondarribia, and the exchanges between the Diputation of Guipuskoa and the Southern Basque Country Community. But with EMPLEO, for the first time, an online platform provides information on the practicalities of working and training on the other side of the border, as well as administrative and practical procedures. The New France Chambers of Commerce are currently developing a « supply-demand » platform on cross-border employment, to try to match the needs of companies with demand. This platform will also feed EMPLEO ⁵⁷.

Sources

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