[tonywig]

It is possible my 20 year old son may be coming to stay with us for 6 months or so starting later this year. He knows very little French. Are there any agencies or companies that might be of use to him in finding short term work that does not require expertise in the French language?

He'll be living in Parthenay, Deux-Sèvres (79) if that matters.

He is a UK citizen.

Grateful for any advice/suggestions.

 

[Bevdeforges]

Unfortunately, there aren't really all that many short-term jobs that don't require at least conversational French - if only to communicate with your boss and colleagues. This is where the traditional French system comes into play - knowing someone who knows someone. But in this case, he's looking at things like babysitting or doing odd jobs for expats in the area, according to his qualifications. And technically speaking, even for something like that, he should really be registered with a sécu number and all so he can pay his cotisations or have them paid by his employers (Bienvenue sur le site du Chèque emploi service universel) - a process that can take "a few" months at least.
Cheers,
Bev

 

[DejW]

I think it will be difficult without French...there are many migrants in France with little French. They soak up the little poorly paid work available.

Or you could try local companies that want an English language speaker...but they usually require some business experience. However, if you don't ask around you won't find anything!

A suggestion for you....if the economics permit can you give him the "present" of a French language course? Either a day a week locally, or a residential intensive course (probably better)....he could then benefit from understanding the French world around him.

DejW

 

[EuroTrash]

Unemployment is high in France and tends to be significantly higher than average in Parthenay as you no doubt know (2014: 18.4% in Parthenay against a national average of around 10%) and speaking no French will inevitably be a disadvantage, so unless he has a very specific skill to offer he would have to be very lucky to find a job.
Unless he does manage to find work I think he needs to be careful to ensure that officially he remains a UK resident / temporary visitor in France so that he will be covered for healthcare via his EHIC card, because as an inactif adult with (presumably) no income, he wouldn't be eligible to join the French state healthcare system.

 

[tonywig]

Many thanks for all your responses and help.

 

[Maxfra]

If he doesn't mind working in a kitchen or a hotel, there a many jobs available in that field. Of course it helps if he has a basic vocabulary in French.

There are many job sites in France for this field, although in my opinion the best is L'Hotellerie Restauration. They even have an English version of the website available.

 

[tonywig]

Many thanks for the pointer.

 

[Bellthorpe]

I take it he's taking intensive French lessons now? If not, he really, really needs to be.