Over 4,500 jobs offered in Métiers d’Excellence in 2025, says LVMH's Marion Bardet

At LVMH, the Institut des Métiers d’Excellence (IME) trains a new generation of artisans, creators and client experts in rare skills for high-demand professions. In an interview with FashionUnited, Marion Bardet, director of Métiers d’Excellence at LVMH, shares how these luxury training programmes are bolstering unknown professions, shaping education and helping young people enter the industry.

What do these Métiers d’Excellence programmes cover?

Our mission is to promote, enhance and pass on skills essential to the group's value chain. This includes creation, craftsmanship and the client experience. The latter encompasses roles in sales and hospitality, such as the hotel industry.

Are these often little-known professions?

Exactly. We work to raise their profile and ensure these unique skills are passed on. We operate across all the group's sectors, including leather goods; couture; jewellery; watchmaking; perfumes and cosmetics; hospitality and selective retailing.

How does this translate into daily practice?

We collaborate with all 75 LVMH maisons through our initial training organisation, the IME. It trains young people and career changers in partnership with prestigious schools such as the Compagnons du Devoir, the Haute École de Joaillerie and the Institut Français de la Mode. Students follow a work-study programme, dividing their time between the school and the group's workshops or boutiques.

Are these LVMH classes integrated into partner schools?

Yes, they are classes run by the IME. Apprentices benefit from both the teaching at partner schools and the support within our maisons. We also offer them masterclasses and language courses. Additionally, they receive soft skills training (how to interact, work and adapt to a team or market, editor's note). There is also an annual competition, the Master Games, where they develop a project to present to the group.

How many young people do you train each year?

In 2025, we welcomed a class of 220 new apprentices in France. Since the IME was created in 2014, more than 3,300 apprentices have been trained. We started modestly, with only 27 students in the first year.

How do you select candidates?

There is a two-tier application and selection process: on one hand, through the partner school, and on the other, through the maison that will host the apprentice. Applications can be submitted until April, particularly during our You & Me tour, which runs from January to March.

Is the training free for students?

No, it is free. That is one of the great advantages of an apprenticeship.

What are your recruitment needs?

In 2025 alone, over 4,500 positions were offered in the métiers d’excellence in France. These professions are hiring on a large scale, and unemployment is virtually non-existent.

Do you anticipate global economic changes, for example in the US or China?

We are remaining stable: the 2025 intake has maintained class sizes equivalent to the previous year. The recruitment needs of the maisons allow us to continue at this pace.

Training an artisan takes time. What is your vision?

Training an artisan is a long-term process. It takes almost ten years to fully master a technique in leather goods or jewellery. Apprentices certainly acquire skills from the early years. However, achieving excellence requires patience and practice. Our goal is this pursuit of excellence, not a short-term cyclical response.

Is generational renewal also a major challenge?

Absolutely. An entire generation of artisans will retire by 2030. Training the talent of tomorrow is therefore crucial to pass on and preserve these rare skills.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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