The ESSEC Apprenticeship Program: The Ideal Way to Finance Your Studies

ESSEC Business School is a world-renowned institute that aims at educating the leaders of tomorrow. The business school allows students to continually define their study and career path by building their academic, professional and international curriculum, through a network of academic and corporate partners.

To enable its students, ESSEC offers a variety of opportunities to gain valuable professional experience along with providing theoretical clarity. ESSEC has a career service website that can be used by students to look for opportunities. Along with traditional work opportunities like internships, ESSEC also offers its students a unique choice, an opportunity to take part in an apprenticeship program. 

An Apprenticeship is a two-year contract between the school, the student and the employer. During this period, the student continues to study at the school while working for the employer. Since the position is considered to be full time on a student’s resume, it is even more valuable than an internship. The rationale behind this is that as an apprentice, the student is exposed to more long-term projects than they would as an intern. The organization of apprenticeships is fitting for project‐based work and is extremely popular with consultancy and auditing firms. 

Another great thing about an apprenticeship is that it offers different scheduling options, similar to the whole ESSEC curriculum. For instance, the student can choose to work for six months and study for the remaining six months. Students also opt to work for three days and dedicate two days to studying. Besides the student being paid a monthly salary, the employer pays for all the tuition fees as well.  

This is a great way to finance an education and gain professional experience at the same time, but the decision to undertake this program must be considered carefully. The student should be sure about the position before signing the two-year contract. This consideration is important mainly because if the student finds the prospect too challenging, it will be particularly difficult to break a contract midway. Keeping this in mind most ESSEC students join companies as apprentices, only after completing one or two internships.  

Since the apprenticeship program is available only in French companies the student must speak French fluently.  Instead of limiting themselves, many students see it as an opportunity to improve their hold over the language. However, there could be a few exceptions where French proficiency is not mandatory.

To conclude, an apprenticeship is an excellent opportunity for any student who is looking for long-term corporate experience and/or financial assistance during their studies. The ESSEC B-School provides students the opportunities and the means to get the best possible apprenticeships.