Rural family centers link “rural territories with a training offer for young people”, explains Olivier Bérard, president of the Occitanie Méditerranée federation

Olivier Bérard, président de la fédération des MFR Occitanie, qui tenaient leur assemblée générale récemment.

Olivier Bérard is president of the Territorial Federation of MFR Occitanie Méditerranée and of the MFR Petite Camargue in Gallargues-le-Montueux. 

The territorial federation of rural family houses Occitanie Méditerranée held its general assembly this week. How MFRs work ? 

These houses are associative training establishments, spread across the territory. There are five in Gard and one in Hérault. We welcome a small group of young people, between 150 and 250 per establishment. They are all in work-study training. 

Each MFR has a job specialty. In Gard, there is an MFR in Gallargues-le-Montueux for social professions and personal services, in Marguerittes for commerce, particularly pet stores, in Castillon-du-Gard for service also for the person, in Uzès for landscaping professions, in Vézénobres for agriculture and horse professions. 

We are attached to the Ministry of Agriculture and not to the Ministry of National Education. The governance of all associations is ensured by parents, alumni and internship supervisors. It’s a very strong commitment. We are right in the field of the social and solidarity economy.

We talk a lot about desertification and the disappearance of public services in rural areas. Your specificity is being outside of urban centers… 

We link rural areas with a training offer for young people. One of our missions is to promote all territories. For example, we have an MFR in Aumont-Aubrac in Lozère, a completely isolated territory. Gard is closer to metropolises. 

How is the MFR network doing ? 

The network is still in full swing. Our strength is the small size of the establishments which allows a great possibility of adaptation to needs. We can respond to a request quite quickly. We are creating houses to increasingly connect our territory. 

You have creative projects in Gard ? 

Currently no. The latest one was created in Claret in Hérault, focused on the catering and viticulture professions. We plan to develop in the west of Hérault, Aude and Pyrénées-Orientales which today do not have MFR establishments. 

Why is the network so dense in Gard ?

This is a historical reason, the MFRs have been installed here for a very long time. The territorial federation has existed for more than 70 years and the current establishments are between 50 and 60 years old.

What levels of training do you offer ? 

We welcome young people from the age of 14, in 4th and 3rd year orientation. They discover professions through long internships (22 weeks per year), before entering professional training in CAP, in professional baccalaureate. And we then continue with BTS, bachelor's degrees and we have just opened a master's degree in garden and pet store business in Marguerittes. 

During your general meeting, you mentioned European mobility. This concerns a lot of people ? 

Last year, in Gard, around 170 CAP, professional baccalaureate and BTS went on European mobility to Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Malta. We have projects in Estonia… They go on professional internships from the CAP. It's very positive for young people who are discovering new countries and new professional practices. This gives them a lot of autonomy, allows contact with a foreign language and it is very rewarding on a CV. Fifteen days in immersion provide much more than many hours of classes. 

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