Professional Experience and CFA
Internships and apprenticeships: immersive experiences
Building a professional future in a company
Every initial training program, regardless of its duration or admission modality, includes a mandatory period of immersion in a company.
The Professional Experience department ensures that students in initial training manage the administrative aspects of their company immersion, whether through internships (during the academic program or a gap year) or apprenticeships. This department ensures compliance with regulatory frameworks to provide students with optimal conditions for their company experience. These regulations encompass labor laws and specific educational regulations for each program. Training periods and content must meet these requirements to allow students to undertake their company immersion.
Internships
Regardless of the student's initial training path, it includes a mandatory period of company immersion to fulfill the "Professional Experience" requirement for the diploma. Each year, the Career Center issues over 5,500 internship agreements for periods that span the entire year, with internship starts mainly at the beginning of January and July.
Internship agreements are created and signed online: students submit requests via Makersboard, emlyon's internal platform accessible to all students. The requests undergo an initial academic validation before moving to administrative validation. Once successfully completed, the agreement is digitally signed by all parties. It is crucial that the agreement is signed before the internship begins.
View the internship calendar
The internship concludes with the company completing a final evaluation, which is automatically sent one month before the end of the internship. The grade received from this evaluation is used to validate (or not) the professional experience requirement for the diploma.
Apprenticeships
The Internal Training Center (CFA) at emlyon manages all apprenticeship activities. Some training programs are accessible through apprenticeship contracts (exclusively). Currently, five programs are offered with apprenticeship options:
- The final year of the Global BBA, start in September (possible start in July)
- The final year of the MSc in Management – Grande Ecole program, start in January or in September
- The Specialized Program in International Corporate Law, start in September
- The Specialized Program Entrepreneurship & Innovation Management, start in September
- The Specialized Program Digital Transformation, Marketing & Strategy, start in September
? The Master in Management and Global BBA courses take place on the emlyon business school campus in Lyon. Specialized Master courses are held on the Paris or Lyon campuses (subject to availability).
Apprenticeships for students
Students go through admission or eligibility phases, depending on the program, to ensure academic quality and the reliability of their professional project. Once these phases are successfully completed, students start searching for their companies with the support of the Career Support department and the CFA. In addition to personalized support from emlyon teams, numerous resources are available for students, such as e-learning courses and webinars. One key resource is an online course specifically created for them.
Recruitment for companies
Simultaneously, the CFA is the primary entry point for employers looking to recruit apprentices. The CFA provides online tutorials to assist with this process and offers the Jobteaser portal for employers to post job offers independently.
Apprenticeship contracts
Once companies and students are matched, the CFA manages the apprenticeship contract and its execution throughout the academic year. This includes mandatory company monitoring, with a designated contact person assigned to each apprentice-mentor pair. This contact person supports the pair throughout the year, visiting the site at least once to ensure that all conditions for a successful apprenticeship are met.
Since its inception in 2020, the emlyon CFA hosted 100 apprentices that year. By September 2024, 620 apprentices will begin their studies across the five apprenticeship programs, on the two French campuses (Paris and Lyon).
For students
More information about apprenticeship programsInterested in applying for an apprenticeship program? masters.em-lyon.com/en
Questions about an existing or new internship agreement: internship@em-lyon.com
Questions about apprenticeship recruitment, ongoing or new contracts: alternance@em-lyon.com
For companies
More information on recruiting an apprentice at emlyonInterested in recruiting an intern or graduate, or participating in a school event to promote your employer brand? relations-employeurs@em-lyon.com