harvey22

Hi
We are thinking of moving to france and wondered if anyone had any tips on where to search for jobs in France for people who dont speak french??? (I know we will learn it!!!) I am a qualified nursery nurse and work in training young people and my husband is in sales

Any advice will be extremely grateful.

harvey

Debbie June

Check out the french job centre website www.anpe.fr for job offers on line. Narrow down your research to the area you want to live in. It won't be easy if you don't speak French and some regions have high unemployment. Contact the British embassy in Paris too. They have some job solutions for Brits moving here.

Debbie June

Sorry, me again,just had a thought! As you're a nursery nurse why not start by becoming an 'assistante maternelle' (looking after pre-school kids in your home). Could be interesting to have an income pretty quick and they're very much in demand, on top of which a lot of French families would be only too happy to have their kids learn English from a very young age. You would have to be registered at the PMI (protection maternelle et infantile) where you live. Your local 'mairie' (town hall) could give you all the contact details. All the best.

Debbie

thisisitimhere

Hi
The truth is that you have no chance of getting employed in France with out the knowledge of the language, the french cant get jobs here, it is truly impossible, sorry, but it is the truth.

good luck

cheekyfarkinmonkey

:curse: i would thouroughly agree with you- NO FRENCH=NO JOB!!!
and yer pidgin french is no good at all, even university a level, whatever you call it is only the basis!!
france is atrocious for getting jobs- i've 20 exp.here, the last ten have been a nightmare- to the extent of a nervous breakdown, and psychological help to keep sanity...
read thru some of the threads about working in france...
i would like to stay in france( new girlfriend) but i will have to work in uk, as here is i reckon the well merited title of "hardest european country to work in" and its no joke...
france has isolated itself from other european countrys for years-
THEY ONLY SPEAK FRENCH HERE!!!!
and basically the atitude is "b***ocks, you're in france speak french!!
the frenchies spend years and years at school, learning english, its hammered in to them- but at the end of the day, they are completly useless in it!!
the reason is, they teach them all the boring rules and regs. but completly neglige the SPOKEN side of it!!!!!!
i've met a french english teacher, who beat me in the "rules and regs" bit- but his jaw slacked open , and face went blank when i spoke english to him!!!!
you can go to any other eu country, and you will find people can speak english, -belgium, sweden ,holland, denmark, norway-are good examples::::
not here!!!
somehow they think the rest of the world SHOULD SPEAK FRENCH!!!
they are a country of "nombrilists"
basically in a nutshell DONT COME HERE TO LOOK FOR WORK!!!!
i could walk into a £30grand a year job in the uk tomorrow, yet here, its the dole for xxxxx long!!!
i really like france-20years here- but at the end of the day, i can get a well paid job in the uk tomorrow....for me it just is'nt worth it

yorkssteve

hi all, buying in puy de dome sign up in september. run a joinery side of a building company in uk for last 20+ years.we shall carry on working in the uk and travel down to renovate app 4 times a year.worked in france 18 months ago fitting items made by us in the uk.whilst there came across an english plumber and a english electrician both had plenty of work and spoke only ave french.the electrician relied slightly on his wife as she was french. i do not intend to work in france but the response i recieved when signing up for the property was surprising when i said i was a carpenter.the french do not seem to spend on their properties (dont think this house has been decorated for 60 yrs)and many are dilapidated especialy in rural areas.sooner or later these properties will need to be upgraded.as to working in the uk there may be plenty of work but it is changeing here as well.lincoln and southern areas have had a big influx of polish and eastern europeans,working cheaply and keeping wages down and locals out of work. IT a few yrs ago seemed to be the in thing but now appears on a downturn as the market is flooded with people looking for employment in this field.even in the building trade you really need good qualifications and a health & safety certificate to gain employment.i believe there are good chances in france but as anywhere else you have to put yourself out and just do it.most of the posts on these boards seem to be pessimistic but there must be some ex-pats out there who have done good,LETS HEAR FROM A FEW.

cheers

Johnny Foreigner

I am no France fan believe me but maybe it is expectation. You leave Britain with a good job and you hope for the same or close whereas in reality you need to start again often, get a rung on the ladder while your French and contacts improve.

There are many jobs (packing, food processing, farm hands) where it is often difficult to get French (or the employers dont want to I really dont know) to do the work so they import labour, from Poland, Portugal wherever and of course they do not speak French. They often sort out housing and transport also.

Now it is not about the money, these jobs would be minimum wage whoever was doing them. Add to this the jobs will almost always be 'temporary' so you get the 10% precarity it is not so bad.

Now for a family moving here, one of the couple might get into one of these jobs plus you get into the benefit system and end up coping ok.

It is not for me but certainly an option. You dont have to earn a mint on day one.