Indicator 14 — Apprentices' exercise of citizenship

Indicator 14 belongs to the apprenticeship-specific block. It stems from the missions assigned to CFAs by article L. 6231-2 of the Labour Code, which include supporting apprentices in their civic development. Concretely, the CFA must show that it does more than prepare a diploma: it creates the conditions for apprentices to exercise citizenship, within the establishment and beyond. Without apprenticeship activity, the indicator is not applicable.

What the auditor actually checks on the day

The auditor looks for real, traced actions, not a statement of intent in the establishment's charter:

• Participation in establishment life: election of apprentice delegates, an improvement council (conseil de perfectionnement) where apprentices are represented, surveys and consultations of apprentices about CFA life.
• Awareness actions: sessions on the values of the Republic, secularism, anti-discrimination and anti-harassment, road safety, health, social media use.
• Concrete engagement: solidarity or environmental projects led by apprentices, participation in civic events, information about voter registration, promotion of civic service or volunteering.
• Integration into the pathway: these actions appear in session schedules, the welcome booklet or the pedagogical charter, with delivery traces: attendance sheets, photos, summaries, apprentices' productions.

The auditor weighs proportionality: a 30-apprentice CFA will not run a 2,000-student programme, but it must show at least regular actions and organised apprentice participation in the structure's life.

Achieving compliance, step by step

1. Map what already exists: many CFAs already do citizenship without formalising it — partner interventions, themed days, delegate elections. List and date everything.
2. Structure a small annual civic programme: two to four actions per year and per cohort (one awareness session, one collective project, delegate elections, civic rights information) suffice for a small structure.
3. Organise apprentice representation: delegate elections at the start of the cycle, and effective participation in the improvement council — one of its roles.
4. Mobilise partners: associations, youth services, prevention services, citizen reservists — external interventions are easy to organise and very well received.
5. Trace systematically: annual schedule, session attendance sheets, summaries, photos, mention in the welcome booklet. Without a trace, the action does not exist in the auditor's eyes.

Field advice

First: link citizenship to the trade being learned — apprentice buy-in improves dramatically. Professional ethics, the sector's eco-gestures, risk prevention, gender equality in the trade: credible, directly useful civic themes.

Second: do not confuse indicator 14 (exercising citizenship) with indicator 15 (information on rights and duties). They feed each other — an informed apprentice delegate exercises citizenship — but the auditor expects distinct evidence for each.

Third, for training providers becoming CFAs: anticipate this indicator from the first cohort. Delegate elections and one scheduled awareness session in the first semester form an immediately demonstrable base you can then expand. A new apprenticeship entrant showing a built civic schedule and its first attendance sheets passes without difficulty; answering "our apprentices are adults, they are already citizens" invites a finding.