French Labour Code
In forceI.-Everyone has the right to be informed, advised and supported in matters of career guidance, as part of the right to education guaranteed to everyone byarticle L. 111-1 of the Education Code.
The public lifelong guidance service guarantees everyone access to free, comprehensive and objective information on careers, training, qualifications, job opportunities and pay levels, as well as access to high-quality guidance and counselling services organised in networks. It contributes to gender equality in the workplace by combating gender stereotypes.
The State and the regions provide a public lifelong guidance service and guarantee all young people access to general, objective, reliable and high-quality information relating to all aspects of their daily lives.
At national level, the State defines guidance policy for pupils and students in schools and higher education establishments. With the support, in particular, of the public centres for educational and vocational guidance and the joint services within universities responsible for the reception, information and guidance of students referred to, respectively, in articles L. 313-5 and L. 714-1 of the same code, it implements this policy in these schools and higher education establishments and, to this end, provides pupils and students with the necessary information on all training paths, as well as the necessary support for pupils, students or apprentices to find their training path.
The region organises information campaigns on careers and training at regional, national and European level, as well as on gender diversity in careers and professional equality between women and men, aimed at pupils and their families, apprentices and students, particularly in schools and universities. When these initiatives take place in schools, they are organised in coordination with national education psychologists and volunteer teachers trained for this purpose. To guarantee the unity of the public careers guidance service and promote equal access for all pupils, apprentices and students to this information on careers and training, a national reference framework is drawn up jointly by the State and the regions. It specifies the respective roles of the State and the regions and the principles guiding the intervention of the regions in schools. The region coordinates the actions of the other bodies involved in the regional public guidance service and sets up a network of advice centres for the validation of prior learning. With the assistance of the national public establishment mentioned in article L. 313-6 of the aforementioned code, it prepares regional documentation on education and professions and, in conjunction with State services, disseminates information and makes it available to schools and higher education establishments, in accordance with procedures laid down by decree.
The bodies mentioned in the penultimate paragraph of article L. 6111-6 of this code and the consular bodies participate in the regional public guidance service.
An annual agreement concluded between the State and the region within the framework of the regional plan for the development of vocational training and guidance provided for in I of article L. 214-13 of the Education Code determines the conditions under which the State and the region coordinate the exercise of their respective powers in the region.
II - The region also coordinates, in a manner that complements the regional public guidance service and subject to the missions of the State, the initiatives of local authorities, public establishments for inter-communal cooperation and legal entities, one or more of whose youth information structures are approved by the State in accordance with the conditions and procedures laid down by decree. The aim of these structures is to ensure that all young people have access to general, objective, reliable and high-quality information covering all areas of their daily lives.
Each year, the region draws up a published report on the actions implemented by the structures in charge of career guidance and guaranteeing the quality of the information available to young people, particularly in terms of combating stereotypes and sexist classifications.
