LVMH Institut des Métiers d’Excellence surpasses 800 apprentices and expands vocational training offering

The LVMH Institut des Métiers d’Excellence held its annual ceremony today to celebrate the beginning of its sixth school year, welcoming a new class of apprentices to LVMH headquarters in Paris. During the ceremony the IME honored 2019 graduates, announced new training tracks and presented the program’s ambitious objectives for the future.

 The LVMH Institut des Métiers d’Excellence (IME), which the Group created in 2014, has continually grown since its launch, energized by LVMH’s commitment to make vocational training and employment opportunities available to the largest possible number of young people. The 300 apprentices in this year’s class at the IME – ten times the number in the inaugural class – join 500 alumni who acquired unique skills in craftsmanship, creation and design and retailing for high-quality products. LVMH is extremely proud of the IME’s ongoing success, reflecting the fundamental importance of transmitting time-honored skills for the Group.

“The LVMH Institut des Métiers d’Excellence is fully in line with the Group’s social responsibility approach initiated 10 years ago, to recognize skills and value savoir-faire and talents. With a graduation rate of 97% in 2019 and a placement rate of 61% at LVMH or with our partners, the LVMH Institut des Métiers d’Excellence has clearly achieved the goals we set when we launched this program, to enhance the employability of our apprentices, regardless of their initial level of qualifications, while nurturing and preserving the unique savoir-faire of our Maisons. The IME is also beginning a new chapter in its history today by welcoming employees of the LVMH Group within the scope of continuing education programs.” notes Chantal Gaemperle, LVMH Executive Vice President Human Resources and Synergies.

The IME has since its creation introduced increasingly ambitious initiatives to welcome more apprentices, adding new training tracks and partnerships with renowned schools each year, spanning their specialty disciplines and the different métiers of LVMH Maisons. This year, eight LVMH Maisons reached out to the IME to establish training programs aligned with their development needs.

These new training offers will include the first program available in Spain. The IME’s “Introduction to Leather Goods Craftsmanship” course with the Compagnons du Devoir et du Tour de France in collaboration with Loewe, will bring the IME program to Spain, after expansion into Switzerland in 2016 and Italy in 2017. The IME will thus propose leather goods training in three countries, France, Italy and Spain.

This newest addition joins 20 existing training tracks, plus seven new programs introduced for the 2019 school year. The IME catalogue in France now includes: The Art and Science of Makeup Formulation with the Orléans IUT technical school in collaboration with LVMH Research Center and ISIPCA; Retail Excellence at CPRO Stephenson with Le Bon Marché group, the Sales Advisor work/study program, to debut in 2020 at La Samaritaine with EMASUP Paris; and the IME Malletier trunkmaking course, reserved to selected IME apprentices at the Louis Vuitton Asnières workshop.

Three new programs have been launched in Italy as well. Two of them are with LVMH Maisons: Addetto all’Alta Sartoria (High-end Tailoring) with the Accademia Massoli (Latium) in collaboration with Fendi and Addetto alla confezione di Maglieria (Knitwear Manufacturing) with the Accademia dei Mestieri Loro Piana (Lombardy). The third program, Addetto alla Stampa Tessile Tradizionale (Traditional Textiles Manufacturing) with the Fondazione Setificio and ENFAPI (Lombardy) aims to preserve traditional craftsmanship.

About the IME

Created in 2014, the LVMH Institut des Métiers d’Excellence is a vocational training program that enables apprentices to learn skills through a combination of classroom education at leading schools and hands-on experience in the workshops of LVMH Maisons and their partners. The training programs cover a vast range of métiers, including draping and tailoring, customer experience and vineyards and winemaking.

The LVMH Institut des Métiers d’Excellence LVMH in 2019:

• 4 countries: France (2014), Switzerland (2016), Italy (2017), Spain (2019).

• 800 apprentices since 2014 – 500 alumni and 300 apprentices.
• Training programs in France:

• Fashion: CAP vocational certificate in couture flou (draping) and couture tailleur (tailoring) with the Institut Français de la Mode;
• Leather goods: CAP vocational certificate in leather goods with the Compagnons du Devoir et du Tour de France; IME trunkmaking program with Louis Vuitton;
• Jewelry: CAP vocational certificate in jewelry making, setting and polishing at the Haute École de Joaillerie;
• Vineyards and winemaking: vocational certificate in vineyards and winemaking at Avize Viti Campus;
• Culinary arts: CAP vocational certificate in baking, pastry, vocational high school diploma in pastry and baking, catering option, with the Centre Européen des Professions Culinaires;
• Beauty: Art and science of makeup formulation with the Orleans technical school and ISIPCA;
• Master Design: Fashion and Creative Industries, at the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3 and Ecole Duperré Paris;
• Customer experience: Retail Excellence at CPRO Stephenson; Sales advisor at EMASUP Paris and Client Advisor EIML Paris.

• Training programs in Switzerland:
  • Watchmaking: AFP in watchmaking and CFC in watchmaking at the École d’Horlogerie LVMH.
• Training programs in Italy:
  • Fashion: Addetto all’Alta Sartoria (high-end tailoring) at the Accademia Massoli;
  • Knitwear: Addetto alla confezione di Maglieria (knitwear manufacturing) at the Accademia dei Mestieri Loro Piana;
  • Silk: Addetto alla Stampa Tessile Tradizionale (traditional textiles manufacturing) at the Fondazione Setificio and ENFAPI;
  • Leather goods: Addetto alla Pelletteria at Polimoda;
  • Shoes: Addetto al montaggio di Calzature di alta qualità at Politecnico Calzaturiero and Operatore della Calzatura at the Académie du savoir-faire Berluti and Centoform;
  • Jewelry: Tecnico specializzato di Progettazione Orafa at For.Al;
  • Client Experience: Master in Luxury, Client Advisor and Retail Excellence at the Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia and Ca’Foscari Challenge School.
• Training programs in Spain:
  • Leather goods: IME “Introduction to Leather Goods” program with the Compagnons du Devoir et du Tour de France, with Loewe.

• 21 métiers
• 35 partner Maisons in the Group’s five business sectors: Berluti, Bvlgari, Celine, Chaumet, Christian Dior Couture, DFS, Emilio Pucci, Fendi, Fondation Louis Vuitton, FRED, Givenchy, Givenchy Parfums, Guerlain, Hennessy, Hublot, KENZO, La Grande Épicerie de Paris, Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche, La Samaritaine, Loewe, Loro Piana, Louis Vuitton, LVMH Recherche, Make Up For Ever, Marc Jacobs, Moët & Chandon, Moynat, Parfums Christian Dior, RIMOWA, Rossimoda, Sephora, Starboard Cruise Services, TAG Heuer, Veuve Clicquot, Zenith.
• Results for IME apprentices – October 2019:
• • 97% graduation rate;
  • 87% of apprentices earned the IME Certificate of Excellence;
  • 74% placement rate, either in jobs in the métiers studied or ongoing training to perfect initial skills. 61% of the graduates have found jobs with LVMH or its partners.