Journalism Apprenticeships 2027: Schools, Entrance Exams and Recruiters

People often say journalism isn't learned at school but in the field. An apprenticeship does both at once: two days in class, three days in the newsroom, for one or two years. It is now one of the surest ways into a sector dominated by short-term contracts and freelance work — and one of the least known to candidates.

In short: France's national joint employment commission for journalists (CPNEJ) recognises fourteen journalism programmes. Several of them — CFJ, IJBA, EJCAM, ESJ Lille on certain tracks, the IUTs of Lannion and Tours, and the Institut pratique du journalisme (IPJ Dauphine) — take on apprentices, most often in the second year of a master's or the third year of a BUT. Entrance exams run between January and April 2027 for a September start, and the search for an employer should begin as early as February, well before admission results are out. The recruiters: public and private broadcasting groups, the regional daily press, radio networks, and above all the editorial communications departments of large companies.

Why apprenticeships took hold in journalism

The profession resisted for a long time. A newsroom runs to the rhythm of the news, not to a training centre's timetable, and many editors-in-chief considered it impossible to train someone present only three days a week. Two developments changed that.

The first is economic. Since the 2018 reform and per-contract funding, an apprentice costs a newsroom considerably less than a journalist on a fixed-term contract, and hiring subsidies finished off convincing the HR departments of the big groups. Media companies, whose advertising models remain fragile, saw it as a way of refreshing their teams without increasing the permanent payroll.

The second is technical. Journalism has fragmented into very concrete skills — video editing, podcast production, data, editorial community management, news SEO, motion design — that a school teaches poorly on its own and that a newsroom has no time to teach from scratch. Work-study solves exactly that problem: the school provides the method and the ethical framework, the newsroom provides the volume and the instinct.

The result: apprentice cohorts have multiplied in the recognised schools, and "dual-media" profiles (writing + video, or writing + audio) have become the standard in job ads.

The fourteen programmes recognised by the profession

This is the point that shapes everything else. In journalism, a "recognised" qualification doesn't just mean it is listed in the national register of professional certifications (RNCP): it means recognised by the CPNEJ, under the national collective agreement for journalists. That recognition brings concrete rights, notably having the duration of training counted towards seniority under the agreement and easier access to the press card issued by the CCIJP.

The fourteen recognised programmes break down as follows:

Not all of them offer apprenticeships, and those that do don't offer them across the whole programme. The dominant pattern: first year with student status, second year as an apprentice. Schools take the view — rightly — that you don't send a complete beginner to run a news desk three days a week.

For BUT degrees, apprenticeships are concentrated in the third year, sometimes from the second. The IUTs of Lannion and Tours have a head start here, with long-standing partnerships with the regional daily press.

What about non-recognised programmes?

There are many of them, often fee-paying, and almost all offer work-study with an RNCP level 6 or 7 qualification in "communication and journalism" or "multimedia journalism." These qualifications are valid and funded like any other apprenticeship degree. But they don't carry CPNEJ recognition. Before signing, always check the qualification's record on France compétences: RNCP number, awarding body, registration expiry date and published employment rate. A programme whose registration expires during your contract is a real risk.

2027 entrance exam calendar: the key dates

Recognised schools recruit through competitive exams, not through a Parcoursup application at master's level. The typical campaign timeline:

• October to December 2026: online registration opens, exam fees paid, application file assembled (CV, cover letter, sometimes a portfolio of work).
• January 2027: registration closes for most Paris schools and for the joint exam shared by several IEJ.
• February to March 2027: written papers — current affairs quiz, document synthesis, writing an article under constraints, English, sometimes general knowledge and a French language paper.
• April to May 2027: admission interviews before a panel combining teachers and working journalists.
• May to July 2027: results, followed by administrative enrolment.

For BUT degrees, the route remains Parcoursup, with the same deadlines as other programmes: choices submitted up to March, admission phase from the end of May.

The paper that eliminates the most candidates is the current affairs quiz. There's no shortcut: you have to follow the news daily for at least six months, across several outlets, and keep notes. Many candidates organise themselves with a dedicated journalist's notebook, one column per week, where they record the names, figures and dates that keep coming up. Past papers from journalism entrance exams, published every year, also give a very accurate idea of the level expected on the document synthesis.

The panels' golden rule: you aren't expected to know everything, they're checking that you are genuinely interested in the world. A candidate able to explain in three sentences why a story matters is worth more than one who recites twenty headlines.

Finding a newsroom: who hires apprentices

This is candidates' blind spot. Being admitted isn't enough: without a contract, there's no apprenticeship. And contrary to a widespread belief, schools do not place their apprentices — they circulate job ads and make introductions, nothing more.

Public and private broadcasting

France Télévisions and Radio France publish apprenticeship campaigns on their careers sites every year, with positions in the national newsroom, in the regional stations (France 3 Régions, the ici network, formerly France Bleu) and on digital services. Ads come out in waves from March–April for the September start. On the private side, TF1, M6, Canal+ and the rolling news channels recruit apprentices, more often for production, news desk and digital editing roles than for pure reporting.

The profile they want is very concrete: being able to shoot alone, edit cleanly, write short. A wireless lavalier microphone that works with a smartphone and a small tripod are in most video-journalist apprentices' kit bags; the employer doesn't require it, but it's what lets you pitch a story when the newsroom's gear is already out on assignment.

The regional daily press

It is the sector's biggest employer by volume, and the most accessible. The Ebra, Sipa-Ouest-France, La Dépêche, Nice-Matin, Centre France and Sud Ouest groups offer contracts in their local offices. The advantage is huge: in the regional press, an apprentice writes, gets a byline and publishes from the very first weeks. The downside: you have to accept relocating, often to a small town, and a set-up where you cover everything, from the town council meeting to the local pétanque tournament.

Apply directly to the local bureau chief, not just to head office HR: they are the one who decides. Speculative applications work very well in this environment — our method is set out in the guide to speculative applications for apprenticeships.

Radio and podcasts

Music and general-interest networks (NRJ Group, RTL, Europe 1, the community stations of the Ferarock network) take apprentices for news bulletins, production and podcast editing. Podcasting has in fact become a career path in its own right: independent studios, publishing houses, online media. A closed-back monitoring headset and an audio editing software licence are among the tools you always end up owning, and a good portable audio recorder lets you bring back usable sound from a story nobody assigned you.

Companies, local authorities and institutions

This is the broadest pool and the one candidates exploit least. Communications departments of large groups, ministry press offices, editorial communications agencies, local authorities with their magazine and web TV: all recruit apprentices able to write, interview and produce video. The work isn't journalism in the press-card sense, but the skills are the same and there are far more contracts. Apprenticeships in the public sector follow specific rules, described in our guide to apprenticeships in the civil service.

Qualifications and certificates beyond the master's

Journalism doesn't necessarily start at bac+5. Several work-study routes lead to media careers:

• BUT in information and communication, journalism track (bac+3): the most balanced route, with a third year as an apprentice and strong employment outcomes in the regional press and local radio.
• BTS in communication (bac+2): geared more towards communication than to writing, but it opens the doors of corporate editorial departments.
• Professional certificates in audiovisual editing or production technician roles: for newsrooms' technical functions, in high demand and short supply.
• Professional bachelor's degrees in "book trades", for publishing and documentary work, often work-study with publishing houses or public libraries.
• Specialised master's degrees: science journalism, data journalism, sports journalism, often open to apprenticeships in the second year.

To explore vacancies and programmes by field, the pages dedicated to media and press careers and the profile of the journalist role list active contracts and listed training providers.

Building an application that gets through the filter

Newsrooms don't read applications the way a conventional HR department does. Three things count, in this order.

1. Published work, not intentions. A link to three published articles — even in a school paper, a student outlet, a neighbourhood blog or a community radio station — is worth more than the best cover letter. If you have nothing, produce something: a 4,000-character written report on a local story, a ten-minute audio portrait, a short vertical video. Nobody will ask who commissioned it.

2. An identifiable specialism. "I'm interested in everything" is the answer that closes doors. A newsroom is looking for someone who can cover a subject it handles poorly: housing, farming, video games, the courts, public health, energy. Pick a beat and dig into it.

3. Flawless command of the language. One mistake in an application email is enough to be ruled out. The profession's classics — a reference journalism handbook, a guide to news writing — remain working tools in newsrooms, and rereading them before interviews is never time wasted.

On format, the rules in our apprenticeship CV template apply, with one adjustment: in journalism, the CV fits on one page and links to an online portfolio. No overloaded layouts, no skills charts.

Pace, workload and ethics

Let's be honest: a newsroom apprenticeship is demanding. The news doesn't respect the training centre's schedule, and you'll sometimes have to choose between a deadline and a class. Recognised schools have factored this in by grouping teaching into block weeks rather than a weekly split — a more comfortable rhythm for everyone.

Two points to settle before signing:

• The byline on your articles. A journalism apprentice normally gets a byline on their work. Have this spelled out, because a portfolio with no bylines has no value on the market.
• The press card. It is issued by the CCIJP to those who earn the majority of their income from journalistic work within a press company. A newsroom apprentice can qualify under certain conditions; an apprentice in a communications department cannot. Ask the question at the interview stage.

Finally, ethics is not a theory module. The Munich Charter, protection of sources, image rights, respect for the presumption of innocence: these are daily reflexes, and an apprentice who has mastered them immediately reassures their supervisor. The role of the apprenticeship mentor is decisive here: in a newsroom, it is often an edition chief or a senior journalist who reads, corrects and explains.

What to do right now for the 2027 intake

1. October–November 2026: identify the recognised schools that offer apprenticeships at your level, note the exam registration dates, and start following the news daily in a structured way.
2. December 2026 – January 2027: register for the entrance exams, produce two or three personal stories to show.
3. February 2027: start looking for an employer without waiting for results. List fifty newsrooms and communications departments, and target named contacts.
4. March–April 2027: sit the written papers and interviews, follow up on company applications.
5. May–July 2027: sign the contract, have the school validate the match between the programme and the role, and file the contract with the relevant OPCO (Afdas for media, broadcasting and the press).

Journalism apprenticeships are a narrow but real route: fewer places than in management or IT, but far better employment outcomes than conventional full-time study, because you leave the programme with published work and a contacts book. That is exactly what a newsroom is looking for.