Autonomy in vocational training policies in the social and solidarity economy: A study of Uniformation[Une politique de formation professionnelle hors du contrôle étatique. Le cas d’Uniformation]

This article examines the autonomy of the French vocational training system through an analysis of the vocational training policies of "Uniformation", the skills operator for the social and solidarity economy. In the context of weakening joint bodies vis-à-vis the State, following the 2018 "Professional Future" law, the study highlights how the branches composing the OPCO build a degree of autonomy by collecting contributions established through collective agreements, enabling them to implement their own vocational training policies. The article analyses the factors behind this particularity, taking into account the nature of employers in the social and solidarity economy, the size of member organisations, sectoral contexts, and the role of public action within them. It concludes that while the social and solidarity economy remains subject to the norms of the dominant economy, labour relations are characterised by distinctive practices that differentiate them from the for-profit private sector. Without erasing the antagonism between labour and management, the study of industrial relations shows that the two sides are "in the same boat," working to maintain their autonomy in order to develop sectoral policies despite a State that tends to take back control.