Find employers for your apprentices without waiting for a job ad
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
You need a garage for an automotive apprentice, a salon for a hairdressing student or a bakery for a CAP programme. Your day starts with business searches, website checks and calls. You know some owners already. The others are still in a directory, on a map or in a colleague's spreadsheet.
A fresh list of vacancies only covers part of this job. You need businesses whose activities fit your programmes, in places your apprentices can reach, and a way to contact the person who can decide whether to take them on.
Small employers play a large role in French apprenticeship: according to DARES, employers with fewer than 10 staff host 59% of secondary-level apprentices for contracts begun in 2024. The public service La bonne alternance already lets you search for businesses to approach without a published vacancy.
How do you turn possible employers into a useful call list? Here are the checks to make, with an example and an email you can adapt.
1. Define the area around your apprentices
Start with one programme and a group of apprentices who need placements. Write down the skills they need to learn, their training schedule, availability and travel constraints.
Distance alone is not enough. A bakery reachable by car may be inaccessible by public transport at its opening time. Check journeys from students' homes and the CFA against the working hours of the trade.
Then define the business types to research. For automotive maintenance, that might mean independent garages, dealerships and service centres, followed by other workshops whose work fits the qualification. For hairdressing, look for salons offering the services the student needs to learn. Let the skills determine the list.
2. Build an establishment list beyond your existing partners
Start with your partner list, then add businesses from La bonne alternance, France's business directory and directories for your trade. If you automate the search, the Business Search API offers activity and location filters.
Keep one row per establishment: that is where the apprentice would work. A SIRET establishment identifier, where available, helps avoid duplicates between trading names, legal names and multiple branches. Use industry codes to shortlist businesses, then check their actual services on a website or in conversation.
Separate existing partners from employers you have never approached. Record a source and verification date for each prospect. Remove closed establishments and addresses outside your scope from the active list.
An illustrative example for an automotive maintenance programme:
| Business found | What you have checked | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| Independent garage, reachable by bus | Website lists servicing and repairs; phone number found | Call to check tasks and supervision |
| Body repair workshop | No mechanical servicing listed | Check whether its work fits the qualification before contacting |
| Garage in an area without a bus route | Relevant activity, uncertain commute for candidates | Check apprentice mobility before including it |
These three rows are not three placement opportunities. They give you an order of work and questions to ask.
3. Qualify potential, then confirm capacity to host
A relevant business activity is a reason to call. It does not establish an available placement.
| Check before contact | Confirm with the employer |
|---|---|
| Activities and services fit the programme | Tasks the apprentice would actually perform |
| Active establishment and plausible commute | Working hours fit the training schedule |
| Usable professional contact details | Someone can provide suitable supervision |
| Useful signals: a vacancy, visible expansion or previous partnership | Interest, timing and capacity to host |
Ask who would be the apprenticeship supervisor and what tasks the candidate would perform. A business website rarely answers either question.
Use simple priorities: call first, needs qualification, revisit later, outside scope. Keep unknowns visible so a business you have discovered does not become a supposedly confirmed employer in your reporting.
4. Find the decision-maker and choose the channel
In a small business, ask for the owner or establishment manager. If you reach a switchboard, ask who handles apprentice recruitment.
Record a confirmed name and role where possible, the business phone number and an available email. Distinguish a switchboard from a direct number and a general inbox from a named address. Do not exclude a suitable employer because it has no LinkedIn profile.
An email can introduce your request when the recipient and channel fit. A call may work better for a tradesperson or store manager. Ask when conversations are convenient and record the answer for future contact.
For professional emails in France, CNIL's guidance includes relevance to the recipient's profession, information about data use and a simple, free way to object. Clearly identify your CFA, explain how to decline further contact and honour that request. Publicly available contact details do not remove these obligations.
5. Make the first conversation concrete
Your first message should make clear whom you train, why you are approaching this establishment and what you are asking for.
Example email, to adapt after checking the business:
Subject: An automotive apprentice in [town]?
Hello [name],
I'm [first name], the employer relations contact at [CFA]. We support apprentices studying [qualification], available from [date], with a [training schedule].
Your workshop provides [verified service], which fits the skills taught in this programme. Would you consider hosting an apprentice this year?
We can briefly discuss tasks, supervision and the practical steps, then introduce a suitable candidate if this fits your needs.
When would be convenient for a call?
[Signature and link to information about data use]
If you would prefer no further contact from our CFA, just reply to this email.
Call opening:
Hello, I'm [name] from [CFA]. We train apprentices in [trade] around [area]. Who handles apprentice recruitment at your business? Is now a convenient time to briefly discuss your needs?
If there is interest, check tasks and supervision before agreeing the next step: a longer conversation or a candidate introduction. Verify the employer's specific situation against current information before quoting costs or financial support.
6. Track coverage of the employer market
Track relevant businesses, those you have contacted and those that have confirmed a possible placement. Keep interviews and signed contracts in separate columns.
Example: of 80 establishments found, 50 fit your programme and apprentice travel constraints. You have contacted 20: coverage is 20 / 50, or 40% of your checked list. There are 30 businesses still to approach. This can help you avoid repeatedly contacting only the ten partners you already know.
Track this by programme and area. Also check which apprentices still have no employer prospects that fit their travel constraints.
7. Keep follow-ups in a shared file
Every row needs an owner, a status and a dated next action. “Call again in November” becomes a November reminder. An objection ends outreach to that person. A positive reply moves the employer into more detailed qualification.
Download the CFA prospecting tracker (CSV). It includes establishment, programme, accessibility, contact, qualification and next-action fields. Open it in your spreadsheet tool and maintain one shared file so colleagues do not approach the same employer independently.
After the first calls, correct your list: a misclassified activity, closed establishment or changed contact. Use those replies to prepare the next round of calls.
What Alternel can take off your team's hands
You can do this in a spreadsheet. The time-consuming part is finding businesses, reading their websites and looking up contact details before each round of calls.
Alternel researches businesses in your area, checks their activities against your programmes and finds available contact details. It can send outreach messages where appropriate and deliver a call list to your team, in your CRM or a spreadsheet. Vacancy monitoring is also available.
Your team then confirms employer interest, tasks and supervision before introducing an apprentice.
Discuss your target area with us. Bring one programme and your current employer list. We will define which businesses to research and what information your team needs for calls.
For more on businesses without published vacancies, read our hidden-market article.
