LVMH Institut des Métiers d’Excellence kicks off seventh school year: online ceremony underlines the Group’s commitment to vocational training and employability for young people

The LVMH Institut des Métiers d’Excellence (IME) launched its seventh school year on October 21. With an online format to respect current public health measures, the event celebrated apprentices, their tutors and members of the IME ecosystem, and welcomed a new class of talented young people who are beginning their courses this fall.

The IME is a key component in LVMH’s policy of supporting youth employment, passing on Métiers d’Excellence, the exceptional skills found throughout the LVMH, to new generations. This ensures the preservation of unique savoir-faire in over 80 craft, creative and retail professions. These métiers thrive thanks to the work of some 80,000 people across LVMH today.

Founded in 2014, the IME reflects LVMH’s desire to promote training in these Métiers d’Excellence through apprenticeships. These programs are open to both young people and adults seeking retraining, aligned with the Group’s policy of promoting equal opportunity while embodying the exacting standards of professionalism and excellence at LVMH Maisons. The IME now counts 31 different programs across 23 professions, 22 schools and 36 partner LVMH Maisons, and has trained more than 900 apprentices in four European countries (France, Switzerland, Italy and Spain).

While the health crisis has had an impact on the IME, it has also underscored the importance of this unique program. LVMH felt it was essential to maintain this ceremony beginning the IME’s new school year, confirming that the Group is forging forward and continues to support apprentices and their tutors. LVMH thus remains faithful to its commitment to developing the employability of young generations and to preserving exceptional time-honored skills by passing them on to new generations.

The online ceremony recognized apprentices who, despite very challenging circumstances, completed their training and earned their degrees, and at the same time welcomed motivated young people who are beginning their courses at the LVMH IME this fall. Some 97% of the apprentices from last year’s class in France and Switzerland were awarded their degree, and 82% received the LVMH Brevet d’Excellence. The great majority of students in the graduating cohort have joined LVMH or one of its partners.

LVMH is committed to promoting learning throughout the careers of current and future employees. To anticipate future staffing needs at LVMH Maisons and ensure that unique skills are passed on to new generations, 18 internal schools provide educational resources aligned with increasingly complex challenges.

Alongside this commitment to Métiers d’Excellence, LVMH is involved in a wide range of actions to support young people. “We are collectively going through a difficult period, but we are maintaining our objectives and we continue to be very much engaged. Given the current situation we have of course made adjustments, but we remain totally supportive of our recent graduates, apprentices and interns,” says Chantal Gaemperle, LVMH Group Executive Vice-President Human Resources and Synergies.

LVMH continues to develop close relationships with prestigious schools and universities around the world. Despite the current context, the Group has maintained direct links with students and recent graduates: more than 50 online conferences and forums have been held since the beginning of this year, enabling young people to discover the array of professions and careers available at LVMH. In late September, the Group and 30 of its Maisons hosted the first-ever online recruitment session for interns entitled “Start your journey with LVMH”, welcoming over 2,000 students from 190 schools around the world.

LVMH is actively engaged in promoting equal employment opportunities. Since 2007, a partnership with the association Nos Quartiers ont des Talents (Talent from Our Neighborhoods) enables young graduates from underserved neighborhoods or low-income families to take advantage of mentoring by LVMH managers. To date some 640 young people have found jobs after being sponsored through this program.

For the past ten years LVMH has partnered the cities of Clichy-sous-Bois and Montfermeil just north of Paris to promote inclusion for youth from underserved neighborhoods, helping forge greater social cohesion. This includes welcoming middle school students to discover the Group and hosting the annual IME Village vocational fair in Clichy-sous-Bois.