There is one sector where people have been talking about "a massive wave of retirements" for ten years and where it is not just a figure of speech: nearly one farm manager in two is over 50, according to the agricultural census published by Agreste (the statistical service of the French Ministry of Agriculture). Behind the farms themselves lies a whole fabric of salaried employers — co-operatives, agricultural merchants, machinery dealerships, chambers of agriculture, food-industry groups, inspection bodies — all looking for technicians, advisers and mechanics. And they are looking for them through apprenticeships, because French agricultural education is one of the few networks where work-study training is the norm rather than the exception.
In short: for the 2027 intake, the farming and agri-equipment sector is recruiting apprentices at every level. Levels 3-4: CAPa Métiers de l'agriculture (farming trades), CAPa Palefrenier soigneur (stable hand/groom), bac pro CGEA (farm business management), bac pro Agroéquipement (agri-equipment), bac pro Technicien conseil vente en alimentation (food sales advice), bac pro Forêt (forestry), CS (certificat de spécialisation) after the baccalauréat. Level 5: BTSA ACSE, APV (agronomy and crop production), PA (animal production), GEMEAU, Génie des équipements agricoles (GDEA), TC (technical sales), ANABIOTEC, Aménagements paysagers (landscaping). Levels 6-7: vocational bachelor's degrees in agronomy and food science, bachelors in agricultural advisory work, engineering schools in the Agro network (Institut Agro, AgroParisTech, UniLaSalle, ESA Angers, ISARA, Purpan) with apprenticeship tracks. Employers: co-operatives and farming groups (Tereos, Vivescia, Agrial, Terrena, Axéréal, InVivo, Sodiaal, Limagrain, Eureden), the network of chambers of agriculture and Cerfrance, machinery dealerships (John Deere, Claas, New Holland, Massey Ferguson, Kubota, Case IH networks), animal nutrition and seed groups (Avril, Euralis, RAGT), and farms that employ staff via relief services and employer groupings. Applications open from January to June 2027, with entry still possible as late as November thanks to staggered start dates.
Why agriculture takes on so many apprentices
Three dynamics overlap, and none of them is about to reverse in the short term.
Demographics. The French Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty estimates that one third of farmers will retire within the decade. This is not only a question of succession: every departure also shifts the demand for qualified employees at the service providers (advisory work, supplies, mechanisation) that support farm restructuring.
Technical complexity. A modern seed drill carries RTK GPS, section control and telemetry. A dealership workshop now diagnoses faults via the CAN bus more often than with a spanner. The farm machinery distribution networks — represented by Sedima (the national union of machinery service and distribution companies) — report a shortfall of more than a thousand maintenance technicians every year. It is the clearest pressure point in the entire sector.
Regulation. Plant-protection certification, CAP cross-compliance, HVE certification, carbon footprints, animal welfare: every new obligation creates a need for advice. Co-operatives have recruited agri-environmental advisers in large numbers over the past five years, and many of them come in through apprenticeships so they can be trained locally.
Useful point of reference: agricultural qualifications do not come under the Ministry of Education but under the Ministry of Agriculture. They have their own framework, their own apprentice training centres (the CFAA and the rural family training centres, the MFR network) and their own information portal, L'Aventure du vivant. A BTSA is not a BTS: always check the exact title on the RNCP record.
The jobs hiring apprentices for 2027
Agri-equipment maintenance technician
The most under-pressure role of all. Routes in include the bac pro Agroéquipement, the CS Tracteurs et machines agricoles (tractors and farm machinery) or the BTSA GDEA (agricultural equipment engineering). Employers are the independent dealerships affiliated to the major brands, agricultural contracting firms (ETA) and machinery-sharing co-operatives (CUMA). Many networks have set up their own branded schools: John Deere with its Tech programme, Claas, Kubota, Case IH and New Holland (CNH group) all offer work-study tracks run with a partner agricultural college or training centre. The workshop generally supplies the tools, but every apprentice ends up buying their own ratchet spanner set: it is the investment that follows you through your whole career, and the only one your boss won't take back at the end of the contract.
Farm business adviser and agri-environmental adviser
The core target for the chambers of agriculture, the co-operatives and the Cerfrance network (agricultural advice and accounting). Relevant qualifications: the BTSA ACSE (farm business analysis, management and strategy) followed by a vocational bachelor's degree or an engineering diploma. Advisers spend their days on the road and in farmyards; the job really runs on a rugged laptop and a notebook that can survive the dust.
Agricultural supplies sales technician
Seeds, fertilisers, agri-equipment, animal feed: supply groups recruit continuously through the BTSA Technico-commercial, in the "agricultural supplies" or "agri-equipment" specialism. Employers: InVivo, Axéréal, Terrena, Agrial, Euralis, RAGT, independent merchants and regional co-operatives.
Laboratory and quality control technician
The BTSA ANABIOTEC (agricultural, biological and biotechnological analysis) opens the doors of soil, milk, water and seed testing laboratories, as well as quality departments in the food industry. If this branch appeals to you, read our feature on laboratory apprenticeships for 2027, which covers the same qualifications seen from the chemistry and biology side.
Animal and crop production
The bac pro CGEA, BTSA PA and BTSA APV train tomorrow's livestock managers, crop managers and highly qualified farm workers. Recruitment goes through the farms themselves, but also through employer groupings and the county-level relief services (services de remplacement), which take on an apprentice and rotate them across several farms — a very instructive arrangement that is often overlooked.
Water, irrigation and land management
The BTSA GEMEAU (water management) leads to irrigation boards, local authorities, engineering consultancies and utility operators. The BTSA Aménagements paysagers (landscaping) and Gestion forestière (forest management), meanwhile, feed the landscaping industry (the Unep network), the ONF and the forestry co-operatives.
Who the employers actually are
| Employer category | Example organisations | Roles open to apprentices |
|---|---|---|
| Co-operatives and farming groups | Tereos, Vivescia, Agrial, Terrena, Axéréal, Sodiaal, Eureden, Limagrain | Advisory work, technical sales, quality, logistics, plant maintenance |
| Machinery distribution | John Deere, Claas, New Holland, Massey Ferguson, Kubota, Case IH networks | Agri-equipment maintenance, parts storekeeper, machinery sales |
| Advisory and expertise | Chambers of agriculture, Cerfrance, technical institutes (Arvalis, Idele, Terres Inovia) | Farm business adviser, agri-environment, field trials |
| Food industry and animal nutrition | Avril, Euralis, Savencia, Lactalis, Bigard, regional groups | Quality, production, maintenance, R&D |
| Public and semi-public employers | ONF, INRAE, FranceAgriMer, local authorities, agricultural colleges (teaching farms) | Forestry technician, field trials, water management |
| Farms and shared-employment structures | Employer groupings, relief services, CUMA, ETA | Qualified farm worker, driver-mechanic, workshop manager |
For the public employers on the list — ONF, INRAE, FranceAgriMer, local authorities — the recruitment rules are not those of the private sector: pay, procedure and dates all differ. Our guide to apprenticeships in the public sector sets out that route in detail.
The application timetable for the 2027 intake
Agriculture has a timetable of its own: the seasons call the shots. An apprentice in arable farming who arrives in October misses the autumn sowing; in dairy farming, on the other hand, a September start works well.
- January – February 2027: the big co-operative groups and machinery networks open their campaigns. This is also the season for open days at agricultural training centres and MFRs, and for the Salon international de l'agriculture (late February, Porte de Versailles), where most co-operatives run a recruitment stand. Go with printed CVs: at a trade show, a QR code is no substitute.
- March – April 2027: the Parcoursup admissions phase for BTSA courses and engineering schools; company interviews for September contracts. Machinery dealerships recruit early, because winter is their quiet period and therefore their best training window.
- May – June 2027: the bulk of the contracts get signed. The chambers of agriculture and Cerfrance publish their apprenticeship vacancies at this point.
- July – August 2027: harvest. Little in the way of formal recruitment, plenty of chances to get yourself known on the ground. A summer as a seasonal worker in a co-operative is often the best passport to a September contract.
- September – November 2027: staggered start dates, particularly in the MFRs and for specialisation certificates. The legal three-month window to find an employer after starting the course applies here too — see our article on the 3-month window to start without an employer.
Three pitfalls specific to this sector
1. Driving licence and mobility. No farm, no dealership and almost no testing laboratory is served by public transport. In practice, a category B driving licence is a selection criterion. On the machinery side, the trailer licence (BE) and plant operation are often covered by in-house training during the contract. If the role involves travelling in your own vehicle, look closely at what the employer has to cover: our article on travel expenses during an apprenticeship explains the rules.
2. Hours and seasonality. Working time is still governed by the Labour Code, and even more strictly for under-18s. In livestock farming, weekend on-call duty and split shifts are the norm; in agricultural contracting, the May-June and September-October peaks make for long weeks. Those hours are neither free nor unlimited — read up on overtime during an apprenticeship before you sign.
3. Safety. The MSA (Mutualité sociale agricole), the sector's social protection scheme, publishes annual workplace accident statistics that place agriculture among the most exposed sectors: machinery, animals, plant-protection products, falls from height. Personal protective equipment is the employer's responsibility — that is a legal obligation. In practice, almost all apprentices supplement the kit they are given with a pair of high-top safety boots in their actual size and, for workshop or livestock building work, a decent pair of ear defenders. The item that rarely gets replaced: good waterproof rainwear, the piece of kit that decides whether a January day is useful or wasted.
Where to look for vacancies and how to present yourself
Four routes work, in this order of effectiveness:
- The agricultural training centres and MFRs themselves. They have long-standing relationships with employers and often place their candidates before term even starts. This is reflex number one: call the centre's employer liaison officer before applying anywhere else.
- ANEFA (the national association for employment and training in agriculture) and its county-level job boards, along with the chambers of agriculture platforms.
- The careers pages of co-operatives and dealership networks. The big groups post their apprenticeship vacancies in January and leave them open for a long time.
- Speculative applications, which work remarkably well in a sector made up of small and medium-sized businesses. A dealership with 20 staff doesn't post an advert: it hires the candidate who turned up. Our guide to speculative applications sets out the method and the wording to avoid.
On the substance of your application, two things matter more than your grades: proof of hands-on experience (placements, seasonal work, helping out a neighbour, lending a hand on a family farm) and the ability to explain why this particular area. A co-operative recruiter is hiring for a territory, not for a head office. Say which area interests you and why you will stay there.
And after the qualification?
The employment rate of agricultural education graduates is among the best of any sector, and the field has the advantage of being spread across the country: you don't only work in the big cities. The classic routes run bac pro → BTSA → vocational bachelor's degree or engineering school, with every stage available as an apprenticeship. Experienced employees, for their part, increasingly use prior experience accreditation (VAE) to have their skills recognised rather than going back through initial training.
As for the market, it will be short of hands for a long time to come. The trick is turning up at the right moment: for September 2027, the useful window opens in January.