“Nine years ago when we spoke about meaning at work, it was only a small minority of people. It is now obvious. It is a social phenomenon. Mathilde Forget founded Bilan de Sens(c), a coaching firm that helps young people with their professional retraining. She saw the growing demand at the time and felt helpless. They were not understood by the boomers who were supposed guide them.
Claire Petreault confirms. Les Pepites Vertes is a company that helps young people find work in the ecological transition. The founder of Les Pepites Vertes had trouble leaving Sciences Po in 2019.
Mathilde Forget identifies a gap between two generations. “Young people saw their parents die over this task, but they are more sensitive to the environment than their elders. “The IPCC report speaks about 50-year deadlines. We can project ourselves there unlike them. Claire Petreault notes that in 2019, she was the only student at my school who wanted to pursue a career in ecology. I was marginalized. There are many people today.”
Many young people find that their lives are changing when they enter work. They discover that their values and work don’t align. “During an internship, or their first job, they realize that it doesn’t stick.” Mathilde Forget also observed the changes in the lives of young people over nine years. “Before, retraining had been more focused on personal well-being. We are now taking more charitable steps.
Claire Petreault however points out that not all students can choose to work in the environmental emergency sector, and this is dependent on their backgrounds. The entrepreneur is determined to help all students, not just high schoolers: “We have BTS and bac pro, pro licensures, CAP.
Mathilde Forget says those who are able to work will want a job that lets them contribute more and faster “because we don’t have the time to wait”. There is a sense of urgency in relation to the climate emergency. According to her, we are now witnessing a shift in terminology: “We have gone from bullshit jobs, useless jobs to destructive jobs.” Claire Petreault argues that to combat climate change and its effects, “all trades and industries, starting from large groups,” should be involved in the ecological transition. This is what some young people understand.
