Introduction

Every year, thousands of students knock on the door of their school's career services or their CFA to find an internship, an apprenticeship, or a first job. On the other hand, hundreds of partner companies are soliciting these same establishments to find qualified profiles. Between the two: a flood of applications, offers, email exchanges and Excel tables... often unmanageable.

That's exactly where ATS comes in. A tool that is still under-exploited in the education sector, but one that is radically changing the game for career services and school managers.

In this guide, we explain everything to you: what an ATS is, what it is used for in practice, what are the best known software, and why training institutions have every interest in adopting one adapted to their specific needs.

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What is an ATS? Definition and operation

ATS is the acronym for Applicant Tracking System, which is translated into French by application tracking system. Concretely, it is a software that centralizes and automates the entire recruitment process, from the publication of a job offer to the final selection of a candidate.

Originally designed for corporate HR teams, ATS have become essential tools in many sectors. According to a 2024 Hellowork study, 80% of recruiters already use an ATS or are considering adopting one. In higher education and vocational training, this tool takes on an even more strategic dimension: it is not only a question of recruiting, but of supporting the employability of learners over the long term.

An ATS generally covers several key functions:

• Dissemination of offers : automatic publication on several jobboards and partner platforms in one click.
• Collecting and sorting applications : all applications arrive at the same place, filterable by criteria (skills, training, availability...).
• Pipeline monitoring : each candidate advances in a visual process, step by step (preselection, interview, offer, acceptance...).
• Automated communication : reminders, appointment confirmations, refusal emails, notifications, everything can be automated.
• Reports and statistics : conversion rate, recruitment deadlines, sources of applications... valuable data to pilot a strategy.

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The most famous ATS software on the market

The ATS market is vast and is divided between general solutions and specialized tools. Here is an overview of the most cited solutions in France and Europe:

Taleez

Developed in France, Taleez is recognized for its customer support. It allows you to distribute offers, customize recruitment workflows, and generate advanced statistics. Particularly appreciated by SMEs, ETIs and associations, it is also suitable for communities and public institutions.

Greenhouse

Rather oriented towards large companies and tech scale-ups, Greenhouse is a comprehensive platform with advanced AI, sourcing and reporting functions. Its popularity is international, even if its price makes it less accessible to modest-sized structures.

Layan

A French tool on the rise, Layan is distinguished by its integrated AI, its advanced sourcing functionalities and a product satisfaction rate that exceeds 98%. It adapts to a large number of business sectors and offers a smooth transition from other tools.

Cegid Talentsoft

Integrated into the HR suite of the French publisher Cegid, Talentsoft is a solution designed for companies that want to centralize all of their talent management (recruitment, training, performance) on a single platform.

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Why is an ATS particularly useful in education?

Training institutions, business schools, CFA, BTS, vocational schools, universities, have recruitment challenges that are very different from traditional companies. And yet, their career services face the same challenges: managing large volumes, ensuring personalized follow-up, and producing measurable results.

Volumes of applications that are difficult to manage manually

An active career department can process hundreds or even thousands of applications per year. Without a dedicated tool, advisors find themselves juggling overloaded mailboxes, stacked Excel files, and forgotten reminders. An ATS centralizes everything: each application is visible, classified, monitored, without loss of information.

A student path that deserves to be mapped out

Unlike a one-off recruitment in a company, a career service supports the same students over several years. It is essential to be able to find the history of a profile, its past applications, its interactions with partner companies, its successive work-study contracts. A well-configured ATS becomes a real institutional memory.

Partner companies to build loyalty

For a training institution, recruiters are not adversaries but partners to be cared for. Offering a smooth experience to companies that submit offers (simple interface, rapid application processing, visibility on available profiles) is a strong differentiating factor. A professional ATS sends a positive signal about the quality of the establishment.

Employability indicators to be monitored

School managers are more and more expected about their results in terms of professional integration. Work-study placement rate, average time to get a first job, business sectors of partner companies... An ATS automatically generates these dashboards, useful for accreditations, annual reports or commercial arguments in the direction of future learners.

RGPD compliance to ensure

The management of applicants' personal data is subject to the RGPD. Storing resumes in mailboxes or shared drives without a clear retention policy means taking legal risks. Modern ATS natively incorporate mechanisms for consent, automatic data deletion, and secure archiving.

👉 Discover also: Ypareo and CRM, how to connect your ERP to a business relationship tool.

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Grimp: the platform designed for career services for training institutions

While generalist ATS meet the needs of corporate HR teams, they are not always adapted to the specificities of training institutions. That is precisely why Grimp was designed.

Grimp is an employability platform that connects students, training institutions and recruiters around a common tool. For career services, Grimp goes beyond simple ATS: it's a real Career Center Digital which makes it possible to centralize internship and work-study offers, to monitor student applications, to animate the community of partner companies and to measure integration performance.

Where a classic ATS handles external candidates, Grimp is built to manage students as talents to be supported over the long term, with their profile, their background, their skills and their professional projects.

For school leaders, Grimp offers a consolidated vision of employability: how many students are actively looking for jobs? What sectors are recruiting them? Which partner companies are the most active? Data that transforms career services into a real differentiator for schools.

👉 What is the purpose of a CRM in education? Why are we interested in it?

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How to choose an ATS adapted to your training institution?

Before selecting a tool, here are the questions to ask yourself:

1. What is the volume of applications to be managed each year? A small school with a few dozen apprentices does not have the same needs as a CFA with several hundred students per class.

2. Is the tool designed for teaching or for corporate recruitment? An ATS designed for HR managers will not take into account the specificities of student monitoring, the relationship with OPCOs or the management of apprenticeship contracts.

3. Is the candidate experience (student side) well cared for? A tool that is difficult to use will discourage learners from applying. The mobile interface, the simplicity of the form and the clarity of the follow-up are essential.

4. Are integrations available? Your ERP (Yparéo, Gestibase, Charlemagne...), your partner jobboards, your CRM, the ATS must be able to connect to it seamlessly to avoid double entries.

5. Are support and support available? Setting up an ATS in an establishment requires real human support. Prefer actors who offer structured onboarding and responsive support.

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Conclusion

ATS for education is no longer a luxury reserved for large groups. It has become a strategic tool for any training institution that wants to professionalize its career services, improve the experience of its students and demonstrate its added value in terms of employability.

Whether you are in charge of a career department, director of a CFA or head of a school, the adoption of a tool adapted to your challenges - such as Grimp - can profoundly transform the way in which you support your learners towards employment.

Do you want to know more about how Grimp can adapt to your establishment?

👉 Discover our career center solution.

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FAQ - Frequently asked questions about ATS for education

What is an ATS in recruitment?

An ATS (Applicant Tracking System) is a software that centralizes and automates the management of applications. It makes it possible to publish job offers, to collect and sort CVs, to monitor the progress of each candidate in the recruitment process and to produce statistics. In the education sector, it is also used to monitor the employability of students over time.

Is an ATS useful for a CFA or a business school?

Yes, and especially so. A CFA or a business school constantly manages application flows (internships, apprenticeships, first job), partner companies and student cohorts over several years. An ATS adapted to teaching makes it possible to structure these flows, improve the student experience and demonstrate concrete results in terms of professional integration.

What is the difference between an ATS and a CRM in education?

An ATS focuses on applying and following up with learners looking for jobs or internships. A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) in education manages the relationship with partner companies and prospects. The two tools are complementary: ATS manages the downstream (placement of students), the CRM manages the upstream (development of the business network). Some platforms like Grimp combine both dimensions.

Are ATS compliant with the GDPR?

Modern ATS natively integrate GDPR compliance functionalities: consent collection, configurable data retention period, right to be forgotten, secure archiving. This is a point that must be checked when choosing your solution, especially if you are processing the personal data of underage students.

What is the budget for an ATS in a training institution?

The cost varies depending on the size of the establishment, the number of users, and the features you want. Entry-level solutions start at around a few hundred euros per month. Specialized platforms like Grimp offer subscriptions designed for training institutions, with human support included. It is advisable to ask for a demonstration before engaging.

Can you connect an ATS to your school ERP?

Yes, modern ATS offer connectors or APIs to integrate with the main ERPs in the education sector. This avoids the double entry of student data and allows automatic synchronization between educational monitoring and employability monitoring. In particular, Grimp offers a connector with Yparéo.

How to convince your management to invest in an ATS?

The most effective arguments are quantified: time saved by the career department, improved placement rate, satisfaction of partner companies, GDPR compliance. A well-used ATS also becomes a strong marketing argument for attracting new learners, by demonstrating the seriousness of the employment support offered by the institution.

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