MOBILITY AND
ACCESS TO
EMPLOYMENT
The Hauts-de-France region:
an illustration of national issues
Thematic public report
Summary
February 2021
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Summary of the Court of Auditors’ thematic public report
g
NOTICE
The purpose of this summary is to facilitate the reading and use
of the Court of Auditors’ report.
Only the report is binding on the Court of Auditors.
The responses given by the relevant administrations, organisations
and communities are included at the end of the report.
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Summary of the Court of Auditors’ thematic public report
Table of contents
Introduction
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
1
An abundant and disparate range of mobility
assistance
7
2
Little-known, poorly coordinated and too limited
access to assistance
14
3
A policy to be strengthened to increase labour
market matches
17
Recommandations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
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Summary of the Court of Auditors’ thematic public report
Introduction
Part of unemployment is due to difficulties in matching job supply and demand .
The obstacles to mobility are, among others, factors explaining this difficulty,
whether it be the location of workplaces (geographical mobility) or the ability
to change jobs, often by adapting one’s skills (occupational mobility) . Using the
example of the Hauts-de-France region, this report examines the actions taken
to promote the geographical mobility of job seekers in order to travel to job
interviews, training or to return to work - in France or in bordering countries -
or even to move . The stakes attached to the issue are indeed high: in France,
between 1 and 2 .5 percentage points of the unemployment rate can be
attributed to geographical mismatches .
The barriers to mobility faced by job seekers can be numerous and varied . This is
why the financial jurisdictions felt it was appropriate to analyse the phenomenon
at a regional level, a level at which it is possible to examine both the deployment
of strategic guidelines and the implementation of the most concrete actions
in favour of mobility . In the Hauts-de-France region, the challenges of job-
related mobility are significant . The region is characterised by high structural
unemployment, a low level of training and a high number of unfilled vacancies .
The lower mobility of some job seekers may explain the difficulty in matching
job supply and demand . In response to these needs, the region’s institutional,
associative and economic stakeholders have developed numerous actions, some
of them innovative, but not very well coordinated .
At the national level, the law on the orientation of mobility of 24 December
2019 emphasises solidarity-based mobility and lays the first foundations for
coordination, to be developed further, to promote the implementation of
solutions adapted to vulnerable or isolated people who have difficulty travelling
to access a job or a vocational training course . These people who are far from
employment have specific needs for support to overcome their physical,
financial, psychological or cognitive difficulties in moving around .
7
1
Summary of the Court of Auditors’ thematic public report
The
economic
and
demographic
dynamics
of
the
Hauts-de-France
region are contrasted, between the
influence of the Lille metropolis on
the one hand, and several areas with
a combination of economic and social
difficulties on the other .
Two
main
categories
of
barriers
limit access to employment for job
seekers . First of all, financial obstacles
are very often cited (purchase and
maintenance of a vehicle, financing of
driving licence, cost of public transport,
insurance, etc .) . Furthermore, the most
vulnerable and youngest people are
more often confronted with cognitive
and psychosocial difficulties that give
them imperfect knowledge of the
possibilities of travelling near their
place of residence or of the assistance
that could make it easier for them to
get to a potential job appointment
and, subsequently, to their place of
work .
A relatively weak culture of mobility
in Hauts-de-France may also explain
these obstacles . Of the sample of job
seekers in Hauts-de-France registered
with the Employment Centre surveyed
by the financial jurisdictions, 42 .8%
said they were not prepared to make
geographical concessions to find a
job . Today, 82% of employed people
have to travel to their workplace on a
daily basis . They spend an average of
almost 40 minutes each day doing so . f
Historically, mobility assistance was
initially financial assistance provided
by
the
Employment
Centre .
The
operator’s mission is to «facilitate
the geographical and professional
mobility»
of
job
seekers .
This
assistance for finding or returning to
work and for entering training was
created in 2008, and then evolved to
simplify
its
implementation .
Since
2014, the new scheme has been
organised around three categories of
support for travel, accommodation
and meals . The assistance can be
combined up to an annual ceiling of
€5,000 over 12 rolling months for
each beneficiary . Childcare assistance
is also available .
An abundant and disparate
range of mobility assistance
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Summary of the Court of Auditors’ thematic public report
Source : Court of Auditors
NB: this diagram provides an overview of the main existing mobility assistance and the main
stakeholders involved; it is not intended to be exhaustive .
A symbol can represent several
stakeholders, for example the Départements symbol can represent the Nord Département,
the Oise Département or both .
The Wimoov symbol can represent the stakeholders of the
voluntary sector .
Financial barriers to travel
Financial barriers to travel
Financial assistance for the B licence
Financial assistance for transport to training
Financial assistance for transport to find
or return to work
Carpooling service
Preferential fares for job seekers
on public transport
Financial assistance or bank loan for
the purchase of a vehicle
Vehicle rental or loan (car, scooter, bike)
Solidarity garages or financial assistance for
vehicle distribution
Other barriers (Psychosocial, childcare, housing)
Financial assistance for childcare
Single parent childcare allowance for
children under 10 (AEGP)
Assistance of €20 to €30 per child per
month for the care of children under
3 years of age (AGE)
Temporary childcare solution for
young children to help with
employment or training
Assistance for access to housing
Partnership between the Employment
Centre and Action Logement since
the national framework agreement
of March 2019
The Region subsidises the AFPA to
open its accommodation and catering
facilities to all vocational training
trainees
Support for the removal of psychological barriers
Serious games organised by its local
missions to discover new territories
and learn how to use public transport.
Support by the departments for RSA
recipients through social centres or
coaching workshops
Support for people in difficulty to remove
the cognitive barriers identified during
the mobility diagnosis
Overview of mobility assistance and support schemes listed in Hauts-de-France
An abundant and disparate range of mobility
assistance
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Summary of the Court of Auditors’ thematic public report
An abundant and disparate range of mobility
In
parallel
with
the
Employment
Centre assistance, mobility support
actions have been set up in the Hauts-
de-France
region .
This
assistance,
which is very substantial in the region,
takes the form of assistance similar
to that provided by the Employment
Centre (assistance for obtaining a
driving licence, childcare assistance,
financial assistance to encourage the
return to employment and training
of RSA recipients, etc .) . It is offered by
local authorities and their groupings
(regional
councils,
departmental
councils,
inter-municipalities)
or
by
associations involved in the socio-
professional support of job seekers
or
more
specialised
in
mobility
assistance . It can also be part of a more
elaborate scheme, such as a mobility
hub, offering or coordinating several
actions . In the region, special solutions
are deployed for young people, in
particular to promote international
mobility . Other regions are also seeing
a dynamic development of solidarity-
based
mobility
schemes,
whether
they are initiated by the State or local
authorities .
Sociogram of the main stakeholders
Source: Court of Auditors
ÉTAT (DGEFP, DHUP ...)
Région
Départements
Bloc communal
Union européenne (FSE/IEJ)
Collectivités
PÔLE EMPLOI,
MISSIONS LOCALES
CHAMBRES CONSULAIRES
Opérateurs de branche
Associations, entreprises à but
d’emploi, structures d’insertion
Plateformes de mobilité, Wimoov...
Action logement
Opérateurs, acteurs de terrain
PERSONNES EN RECHERCHE
D’EMPLOI
(inscrits ou non à Pôle emploi),
notamment : jeunes allocataires du
RSA, demandeurs d’emploi en
activité réduite
ENTREPRISES
Bénéficiaires
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Summary of the Court of Auditors’ thematic public report
However, a more detailed examination
shows that the deployment of mobility
assistance is uneven across the region .
To illustrate the scope of this, the
situation of four employment areas
was examined: the Lille conurbation,
the Sambre-Avesnois area (south-east
of the Nord département), Santerre
(east of the Somme département) and
the south of Beauvaisis (south-west of
the Oise département) .
The four employment areas examined in Hauts-de-France as part of this survey
Source : Court of Auditors, based on the Employment Centre’s 2017 geographical reference
system, the employment area (administrative division respecting a logic of balance in the number
of job seekers and the number of agents). According to data from the regional office of the
Employment Centre Hauts-de-France (June 2019). According to INSEE’s 2017 legal population
file with territorial boundaries in force on 1 January 2019.
An abundant and disparate range of mobility
Lille
Douai
Cambrai
Maubeuge
Dunkirk
Calais
59 -
NORD
62 -
PAS-DE-CALAIS
60 -SOMME
02 -
AISNE
Arras
Amiens
Péronne
Beauvais
Méru
Laon
Compiègne
Château-
Thierry
Valenciennes
Fourmies
Avesnes-
sur-Helpe
Lille
~
826,000 inhabitants
34% of job seekers
without means
of transport
Sambre Avesnois
~
233,000 inhabitants
29% of job seekers
without means
of transport
Santerre Somme
~
145,000 inhabitants
23% of job seekers
without means
of transport
Méru
~
72,000 inhabitants
31% of job seekers
without means
of transport
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Summary of the Court of Auditors’ thematic public report
An abundant and disparate range of mobility
In the Lille metropolitan area, where
there is a wide range of transport
options, many people nevertheless
experience psychological barriers to
mobility, particularly in the perception
of distances between cities and in the
use of public transport . In Sambre-
Avesnois, a catchment area with a
number of socio-economic difficulties,
transport costs are an obstacle, in
addition to other reasons relating to
territorial
attachment
or
personal
constraints (childcare, housing costs) .
In Santerre, a rural area, the lack of
public transport makes the use of
the car essential, in a context where
local food processing and industrial
companies
only
very
rarely
offer
alternative travel solutions . A similar
observation can be made in Méru,
an area of the Beauvaisis region
polarised towards Paris . In addition,
job seekers are confronted with the
cost of transport without always being
eligible for the assistance offered to
them .
Source: Court of Auditors, Maps and Data. Based on data from the Hauts-de-
France regional office of the Employment Centre (June 2019)
Contrasting capacities to move from one area to another
Lille
Arras
Amiens
Péronne
Beauvais
Méru
Santerre
Somme
Sambre Avesnois
Lille conurbation
Laon
31%
34%
60%
34%
41%
48%
29%
41%
56%
23%
32%
65%
Regional average
28%
38%
56%
Rate of job seekers without means of transport
Rate of job seekers without a driving licence
Rate of job seekers with a car
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Summary of the Court of Auditors’ thematic public report
The Lille conurbation is characterised
by a high density of assistance and
support
provided
by
a
multitude
of public and private stakeholders .
Within rural areas, some dynamic
communities,
of
which
Fourmies
(Nord) is a significant example, have
invested in the issue of mobility and
have developed multiple initiatives
to help job seekers . Conversely, in
Santerre or the south of Beauvaisis,
mobility assistance is limited or non-
existent and provides only marginal
support for the steps taken by job
seekers .
It also appears that the creation of
mobility hubs designed to coordinate
and promote the assistance offered, as
in Fourmies or Lille, creates a unifying
dynamic and enables job seekers to
be better informed and more in touch
with existing measures . The aim of
the European Metropolis of Lille to
have a very successful mobility hub
(MobiliMel) by 2021 could be a model
for the future .
An abundant and disparate range of mobility
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Summary of the Court of Auditors’ thematic public report
People who have received mobility
assistance
from
the
Employment
Centre
emphasise
that
it
has
had an impact on their return to
employment or entry into training .
According to figures published by the
Employment
Centre,
during
2017,
330,000 geographical mobility aids
were
granted
to
almost
150,000
beneficiaries throughout France . Half
of them were awarded in the context
of job search . 44% of job seekers who
benefited from a mobility solution
consider that it played an important
role in finding a job and two thirds
of them consider that the new job
corresponded to their career plan .
However, the conditions for granting
this assistance are too often restrictive,
although they can be made more
flexible by allowing local Employment
Centre agencies to grant assistance
by way of derogation to normally
ineligible job seekers . The limits set
concern multiple factors such as the
minimum distance to travel in order to
benefit from assistance, the amount of
the back-to-work allowance received
by the beneficiary, the sponsor of
the training followed by the job
seeker,
etc .
Difficulties
in
putting
together administrative applications
for support also play a role, which is
emphasised by job seekers despite
the fact that they can submit their
applications
in
electronic
format,
directly from their personal space on
the Employment Centre website . Even
though the operator is considering
measures to partially alleviate these
restrictions, they have a negative
impact . The budget that the regional
directorate of the Employment Centre
devotes to this assistance in Hauts-de-
France is being reduced (€5 .7 million
in 2019 compared to €7 .7 million
in 2016), on the grounds, it argues,
of the increase in training financed
by the Region, which does not give
entitlement
to
the
Employment
Centre mobility assistance .
The
Hauts-de-France
Region
tries
to fill in the «blind spots» of these
schemes, but its action affects a
fairly small public and ultimately
comes
up
against
the
same
obstacles to accessing assistance .
It has focused its action on people
who have already found a job,
i .e . at the end of their job search .
However,
the
Region
does
not
support beneficiaries over the long
term and cannot demonstrate that
its assistance leads to sustainable
reintegration .
Little-known, poorly
coordinated and too limited
access to assistance
2
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Summary of the Court of Auditors’ thematic public report
Despite sustained communication
based
on
both
institutional
stakeholders
and
the
range
of
existing media, 82 .1% of job seekers
are not aware of any of the Hauts-de-
France Region’s mobility assistance .
The visibility of the Employment
Centre mobility assistance is higher,
but more than half of the job seekers
(51 .4%) are not aware of it .
Lack of awareness of mobility assistance by entity and age group
Little-known, poorly coordinated and too
limited access to assistance
Source : Court of Auditors
Lastly,
the
coordination
of
stakeholders
providing
assistance
is insuffi
cient .
This results in cases
of redundancy of supply, but also in
territories not covered by assistance .
A logic of scattering seems to be
at work, favoured by the methods
of allocating funding through calls
for projects .
Some associations can
benefit from multiple co-financing
(local
authorities,
département,
region, European Union) to develop
local projects, while other territories, in
which no local initiative has emerged
in the absence of a project leader, do
not benefit from any intervention in
these areas .
Until the law on the orientation of
mobility of 24 December 2019, in the
absence of coordination bodies, the
various stakeholders took up this issue
in a heterogeneous manner and with
unequal investment .
By introducing the
obligation to consult the stakeholders
within an action plan, the law should
encourage coordination, which has
been lacking until now .
Based on this
text, the Region and the Departments,
in conjunction with the Employment
Centre, must develop complementary
actions, adapted to the needs of the
people to be supported and covering
the entire region .
Inter-municipalities
also have a coordinating role to play,
which the law has reinforced .
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Summary of the Court of Auditors’ thematic public report
The
difficulties
observed
by
the
financial jurisdictions in Hauts-de-
France are challenges to be met by
all the stakeholders in the region, but
also in other territories where the
initiatives, more or less numerous, are
not sufficiently structured to respond
effectively to the issues at stake .
The recommendations made by the
financial jurisdictions therefore go
beyond the sole regional framework
of
Hauts-de-France
to
encourage
the structuring of genuine regional
policies throughout the country .
In
order
to
improve
the
overall
effectiveness
of
this
policy,
it
is
important
that
the
Region
takes
charge of this subject, which the law
intended to entrust to it, by ensuring
an exhaustive inventory of mobility
assistance in the region, in order to
identify the areas and the public not
covered, by organising the coordination
of the stakeholders, as part of the
action
plans
for
solidarity-based
mobility, in order to define a strategy
and
by
implementing
measures,
either by itself or by delegation, in the
territories where the communities of
municipalities have not taken on the
responsibility for mobility .
Little-known, poorly coordinated and too
limited access to assistance
17
Summary of the Court of Auditors’ thematic public report
The question arises as to whether the
various and multiple forms of assistance
available to job seekers meet their
expectations . However, it appears that
the data that would allow us to ensure
the
effectiveness
of
the
mobility
assistance deployed in the regional
territory are insufficient . In concrete
terms, there is currently almost no
evidence to guarantee whether or not
assistance is contributing to a return
to employment .
The
example
of
the
Proch’emploi
scheme
1
is illuminating in this respect .
Although data exists, the Hauts-de-
France Regional Council is not in a
position to assess whether the measures
implemented
have
enabled
their
beneficiaries to return to permanent
employment . Result indicators should
be established to determine whether
the
situation
of
beneficiaries
has
improved after receiving assistance for
the different types of beneficiaries (job
seekers, RSA beneficiaries, young people
registered with local missions, etc .) .
Proposed by the Region, the evaluation
of actions in favour of mobility as part of
future action plans to be drawn up for
all the mobility areas in the region, as
provided for in the law on the orientation
of mobility, meets this objective .
Improving
the
impact
of
mobility
assistance
also
requires
a
closer
involvement of companies . They need
to be encouraged to take more account
of mobility issues in their recruitment
strategies . According to a survey carried
out in 2019 in the Lille area, 46% of the
companies located there stated that
they had missed a recruitment due
to geographical mobility . At the same
time, large companies, some of which
used to provide transport to and from
work for their employees (based on the
bus model), no longer do so . Company
mobility plans, which the legislator
intended
to
revive,
are
currently
undergoing limited development .
In addition to the measures put in place
to facilitate
geographical
mobility,
local initiatives have been taken to
match job supply and demand and to
change the way companies recruit .
3
A policy to be strengthened
to increase labour market
matches
1 Proch’emploi was launched in January 2016 by the Hauts-de-France Region . The scheme links
job seekers with employers . A telephone number enables them to contact the Proch’emploi
hub referents who can direct them according to the needs identified and match job supply and
demand .
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Summary of the Court of Auditors’ thematic public report
Upstream of recruitment, the search for
solutions to mobility difficulties must be
integrated throughout the support of
job seekers . When a job seeker is seen
for the first time in an Employment
Centre branch, the diagnosis of his or
her situation includes an assessment of
his or her ability to be mobile in order
to respond to a job offer or for training .
But these elements are only addressed
in the preliminary phase of the support .
They are often then delegated by the
Employment Centre to external service
providers, which does not make it easy to
take them into account over the entire
duration of the integration process, while
needs may change over time .
In
addition,
job
seekers
express
strong expectations to take jobs in
neighbouring
countries
or
further
away . In 2019, around 17,000 of them
benefited
from
the
Employment
Centre’s international mobility service
offer, all regions combined . In the
Hauts-de-France region, international
mobility involved 1,200 job seekers .
About 600 expressed the wish to go to
Belgium . The second most sought-after
country is Switzerland, with around 100
applications .
Two specific EU schemes for job seeker
mobility stand out . The EURES network,
of which the Employment Centre is the
national referent for France, consists of
a hub for bringing together European
employers and job seekers . Through
the Erasmus + programme, job seekers
can complete a 12 to 24 week work
placement in a European Union country .
In
addition
to
these
measures
to
facilitate international mobility, cross-
border cooperation can play an effective
role . In the Hauts-de-France region,
projects such as «Employment without
borders» or «Moving Forward» have
been developed between the French
and Belgian employment services .
All these initiatives are of obvious
interest as they broaden the recruitment
prospects of job seekers .
The crisis situation caused by the
Covid-19
epidemic
may
further
weaken the prospects of access to
or return to employment for people
with mobility difficulties, even if in
some sectors teleworking was to be
developed .
Employers
will
probably
always give preference to people who
have no problems getting to their place
of work or training . The magnitude
of the challenges to be met in the
coming months requires that initiatives
developed at local level be placed within
the framework of more structured
policies,
likely to
concern
a
larger
number of beneficiaries . This context
must therefore be an opportunity for the
various stakeholders, at both national
and territorial level, to re-examine the
investments to be made and the actions
to be prioritised to remove the obstacles
to mobility for the most vulnerable
groups with the aim of mitigating the
effects of the predicted economic and
social shock .
A policy to be strengthened to increase
labour market matches
19
Recommandations
Summary of the Court of Auditors’ thematic public report
To strengthen the coordination of
relevant stakeholders
1.
Carry out a shared and coordinated
inventory
of
the
solidarity-based
mobility schemes deployed in the
regional territory (
Region
) .
2.
Provide,
in
the
regional
development
plan,
sustainable
development
and
territorial
equality, the strategy for solidarity-
based mobility adopted by all the
stakeholders in the region (
Région
) .
3.
Involve
the
beneficiaries
of
solidarity-based mobility actions in
the development, implementation
and
evaluation
of
the
schemes
(
Region, Départements
) .
To respond effectively
to the mobility needs
of job seekers
4.
Overhaul the system of financial
assistance
for
mobility
at
the
Employment Centre and strengthen
the autonomy of the agencies in the
allocation of assistance (
Employment
Centre
) .
5.
Improve
communication
on
mobility support schemes to job
seekers and across all territories
(
Ministry
of
Labour,
local
public
employment
services,
local
authorities).
6.
Better
integrate
questions
on
mobility throughout the support
of
people
towards
employment
or vocational training (
Ministry of
Labour, the Employment Centre and
other stakeholders in charge of the
socio-professional support of people
seeking employment).
7.
Strengthen
cooperation
and
partnerships with public employment
services in other European countries
to promote international and cross-
border
mobility
of
job
seekers
(Employment Centre).
To assess the social impact of
solidarity-based mobility schemes
8.
Ensure
consolidated
statistical
monitoring
by
territory
of
job
seekers who have received mobility
assistance, including for international
mobility
(Region)
9.
Assess the social impact of mobility
assistance
schemes
(
Ministry
of
Labour and local authorities).
These recommendations, made during the survey carried out in the Hauts-
de-France region, are likely to have a wider scope in order to encourage the
development of structured regional policies, with the help of the various
stakeholders .