Young Apprentices: the hard school of life | M6 | Zone Interdite

They are 16-25 years old and apprentices. At the age when you might be going to junior high, high school or university they are thrust into the world of work. Some by vocation, others by default. Some, who have had an educational setback, might have gone down a wrong road: this is their last chance to get a qualification. For a year we followed the lives of four teenagers who have managed to get places on sandwich courses. It’s not easy for them to leave the cosy cocoon of the family to become independent workers. How are they managing this pivotal change? Will they be up to the challenge? Tania and Elodie are on an apprentice sandwich course for waitresses: two weeks at the Villepinte Apprentice training centre, two weeks on the job. For Elodie this apprenticeship is her last chance. She’d already dropped out of school. After hanging around her mother’s for two long years, she’s lost all self-confidence. Tania dreamt of becoming an air stewardess, but her poor school grades prevented her. So she turned to restaurant work, without much conviction. After trying communication studies, law and then history at the University of Bordeaux, Evgueni decided to change direction: he’s training to be a pork butcher and caterer. But learning a manual trade is not so easy. Working conditions are harsh. To put up with them, you really have to have a vocation. Will Evgueni be able to stick it out? Paula grew up in her parent’s hairdressing salon near Bordeaux. Intensely coached by her parents she is aiming high. She’s hoping to win the title of Best Apprentice in France. In order to do that she is following an intense course with Nicole, a retired hairdresser and former Best Craftswomen in France: a lady with an iron fist in a velvet glove.