Business Partnerships: 7 Levers to Grow Your Pool of Partner Companies in 2026

For a career services manager, the pool of partner companies is an institution's most valuable asset.It determines the quality of apprenticeship contracts signed, the placement rate of students, the collection of apprenticeship tax, and the school's employer reputation.

However, in 2025, the apprenticeship market experienced its first decline since 2018 : 846,700 new apprenticeship contracts were signed, a 5% decrease compared to 2024 (DARES, 2026). Competition among institutions is intensifying. Companies approached by 3 or 4 different schools for the same profile prioritize those that offer them the most value.

Here are 7 concrete levers to develop and retain your pool of partner companies, based on 2026 market data.

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The 2026 context: why accelerate now

Before detailing the levers, let's set the scene. According to DARES (January 2026 publication), as of December 31, 2024:

• 1,048,800 apprenticeship contracts were ongoing in France
• 889,400 new contracts were signed during 2024 (+4% vs 2023)
• 44% of these contracts are signed in companies of fewer than 10 employees

According to the DEPP (Ministry of National Education), 3,688 CFA were registered in France at the beginning of 2025. Competition is therefore fierce, and VSEs/SMEs represent a major untapped resource for many schools that focus on large corporations.

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Lever 1: Segmenting and qualifying your company pipeline

An unqualified pipeline is an unmanageable pipeline. The first mistake career services make is managing all companies in the same way: a single spreadsheet, generic follow-ups, no prioritization.

What to implement:

• Classify each company according to 3 dimensions : size (VSE/SME/MTE/LE), industry sector, relationship level (prospect / occasional partner / strategic partner)
• Identify companies that recruit regularly : these are the ones that deserve priority retention efforts
• Track for each company: number of contracts signed, last interaction, main contact, apprenticeship tax paid
• Define contact cycles differentiated: strategic partners require 4-6 qualified contacts per year, prospects a lighter cycle

Without this segmentation, your corporate relations managers waste considerable time chasing everyone without retaining anyone.

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Leverage 2: Capitalize on the apprenticeship tax as an entry point

The apprenticeship tax is the most underutilized lever by career services. Yet, it's an ideal entry point into a company.

The mechanism: the apprenticeship tax represents 0.68% of the payroll for companies with 11 employees or more (source: URSSAF). It is divided into two parts:

• Main portion (87% of the AT, or 0.59% of the payroll): paid to URSSAF, funds apprenticeships via OPCOs
• Balance of the AT (13% of the AT, or 0.09% of the payroll): freely allocated by the employer to one or more eligible institutions, via the platform SOLTéA

For the SOLTéA 2025 campaign, 522 million euros were distributed to institutions and 1.48 million employers have used the platform to allocate their balance.

What to do:

• Identify companies eligible to contribute to your network (generally >11 employees)
• Contact HR or financial management between May and October (SOLTéA campaign)
• Prepare a clear pitch: what their tax funds, how the money is used in your institution, what specific projects are supported
• Make it easy: a step-by-step guide to finding your institution in SOLTéA, your UAI code, the schedule
• Thank and report back to the contributing companies: this is what retains them for the following year

This is one of the few legitimate reasons to re-engage with a dormant company.

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Key 3: Adapt your message to company size

DARES figures are unambiguous: 44% of apprenticeship contracts in 2024 were signed with companies employing fewer than 10 people. If your prospecting focuses solely on large corporations, you're missing out on the majority of the market.

Adapt the message:

• VSEs (< 10 employees) : a pragmatic argument – productivity gains, hiring incentives, administrative simplicity. The decision-maker is often the CEO themselves: quick appointment scheduling, direct approach, few intermediaries.
• SMEs (10-249 employees) : a mixed argument – apprenticeship as a long-term recruitment tool, access to a pool of trained young talent, ROI on apprenticeship tax. The decision-maker: HR Director or Training Manager.
• Mid-caps and large corporations : a structured argument – long-term partnerships, signing agreements, visibility among students (forums, presentations, mentored projects). The decision-maker: Group HR management, sometimes involving multiple hierarchical levels.

VSEs/SMEs are won over by volume (many contacts, short cycle). Large corporations by depth (few contacts, long cycle, global partnership).

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Lever 4: Anticipate the impact of the 2025 reform

Since July 1, 2025, several changes directly impact companies' hiring decisions. Understanding them well means being able to anticipate them with your partners.

Key changes (source: Ministry of Labor, June 2025):

• Mandatory employer contribution : €750 mandatory for all apprenticeship contracts from Bac+3 level (levels 6 and 7)
• NPEC payment to the CFA now prorated according to the number of training days (40% upon signing, 30%, 20%, 10% balance - Decree No. 2025-585)
• 20% reduction in NPEC for training delivered at least 80% remotely (Decree No. 2025-586)

Current hiring subsidies for companies with fewer than 250 employees (source: Service-Public Entreprendre, March 2026):

• €5,000 for a contract at high school diploma level or below (level 4)
• €4,500 for a contract at Bac+2 level (level 5)
• €2,000 for a contract at Bac+3 to Bac+5 level (levels 6 and 7)
• €6,000 for any apprentice with a disability

Your role: train your business relations managers to simply explain these changes to the HR departments of partner companies. Many VSEs/SMEs are not up to date. You gain credibility by becoming their go-to source of information on apprenticeships.

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Lever 5: Activate the alumni network

Your former students who have become employees or managers in companies are your best referral sources. They know your institution, understand what they learned there, and are trusted advisors within their companies.

What to implement:

• Map your alumni network: where are they 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years after graduation?
• Identify those who are currently in positions of influence over recruitment (managers, HR, executives)
• Engage with them in a personalized way : not a mass mailing, but individualized contacts via LinkedIn or annual meetings
• Offer them concrete roles : school ambassadors, guest speakers, jury members, apprenticeship mentors for their teams
• Thank them publicly (LinkedIn mentions, alumni newsletter, dedicated events)

No official data quantifies the impact of alumni on securing apprenticeship contracts. However, according to feedback from career services, it is one of the most impactful levers for improving the quality of the talent pool, provided it is structured and not opportunistic.

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Lever 6: Diversify prospecting channels

Relying on a single prospecting channel (only job boards, or only the apprenticeship tax) means missing out on 80% of the market. The most successful schools in developing their talent pool diversify:

• Forums and trade fairs professional (sector-specific and general: Apprenticeship Fair, HR events, career fairs)
• LinkedIn : targeted prospecting by geographic sector and company size, direct HR contact
• Partnerships with professional federations local (Chambers of Commerce, industry branches, employer associations)
• Unsolicited applications to companies : not just waiting for job offers, but proactively proposing interesting profiles to targeted companies
• Events organized by the school : company open days, alumni-recruiter networking evenings, high-visibility mentored projects

The cumulative effect is what matters. A company that sees your school 3 times in different contexts (LinkedIn, forum, apprenticeship tax) eventually considers a partnership, whereas a simple email solicitation goes unnoticed.

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Lever 7: Centralize and Automate Follow-up

All the previous levers fall flat if data isn't centralized. When company follow-up is scattered across multiple Excel files, emails, sticky notes, and the memory of each project manager, the team loses opportunities every day.

The most effective career services in 2026 rely on a single tool to:

• Centralize theinteraction history with each company (emails, meetings, events, signed contracts)
• Visualize the status of each relationship at a glance
• Automate follow-ups (apprenticeship tax campaign, contract anniversaries, upcoming events)
• Track key metrics : number of active companies, response rate, contracts signed per company cohort, apprenticeship tax collected
• Share information within the team: when a project manager leaves the school, their network doesn't disappear

Solutions like Grimp, a CRM specifically designed for school-company relationships, now enable career services to transition from manual tracking to professional management, by centralizing learners, companies, and metrics in a single interface.

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FAQ - Developing your pool of partner companies

How many apprenticeship contracts are signed in France?

According to DARES (January 2026 publication), 889,400 new apprenticeship contracts were signed in 2024 and 1,048,800 contracts were ongoing as of December 31, 2024. In 2025, the number of new contracts decreased for the first time since 2018, to 846,700 contracts (-5%).

What is the share of SMEs and VSEs in apprenticeships?

According to DARES (2024), 44% of apprenticeship contracts started in 2024 were signed in companies with fewer than 10 employees. This is the majority segment and the fastest-growing one (+6% in one year). VSEs and SMEs therefore represent a priority target for expanding their talent pool.

How does the apprenticeship tax work in 2026?

The apprenticeship tax represents 0.68% of the payroll of companies with 11 employees or more (source URSSAF). It is divided into two parts: the main portion (87%) paid to URSSAF, and the balance of the apprenticeship tax (13%) which the employer freely allocates to one or more eligible institutions via the platform SOLTéA.

What is NPEC?

NPEC (Niveau de Prise En Charge - Level of Coverage) refers to the annual amount covered by OPCOs for the cost of an apprenticeship contract. According to France Compétences, the setting of NPEC amounts is the responsibility of professional branches. Since July 1, 2025, payments to CFAs have been prorated according to the number of training days actually completed.

What are the hiring aids for an apprentice in 2026?

According to Service-Public Entreprendre (verified in March 2026), for companies with fewer than 250 employees, the hiring aid for an apprentice varies by training level: €5,000 for a contract ≤ Bac, €4,500 for a Bac+2, €2,000 for Bac+3 to Bac+5 levels, and €6,000 for any apprentice with a disability. The aid is granted for the first year of the contract.

How many establishments benefit from the apprenticeship tax?

According to SOLTéA data for the 2025 campaign, over 11,000 beneficiary establishments were listed on the platform, and €522 million were distributed to eligible establishments via employer designations.

How many CFAs are there in France?

According to the DEPP (Information Note No. 25.44, July 2025), 3,688 CFAs were registered in France at the beginning of 2025, an increase of +6.4% compared to the previous year. The dense network of CFAs intensifies competition among institutions to attract partner companies.