French Secretary of State for the digital economy Axelle Lemaire announced in an interview with Le JDD that the French government will work on a developer visa for highly skilled employees.
While the French government already announced that it plans to create a so-called startup visa for entrepreneurs and investors, Lemaire wants to extend this visa to engineers. According to French governmental agency Pôle emploi, hiring developers is the most difficult hiring process in France. And it’s not over — tech companies will be looking for 36,000 new developers in the next five years.
French engineering schools are very good but won’t be able to make up for this increase in job openings. Moreover, many engineers choose to move to the U.S. and work for American tech companies. You can see this phenomenon by looking at French tech engineers alumni networks, such as While42.
Previously, the plan for the startup visa only concerned entrepreneurs and investors who wanted to create jobs in France. Following Tariq Krim’s report on French developers, Lemaire wants to provide the same advantages for developers as well. Starting in 2015, everybody working for a startup, from founders to developers, will get a visa and be able to work for four years in France.
Finally, Lemaire will work on France’s educational system when it comes to computer science. French engineering schools are among the best engineering schools in the world, but many average students are not good enough at math or physics to pass the competitive exams. Contrarily, there are very few computer science schools that only teach you how to code.
France needs more computer science schools for anyone with a baccalauréat and a passion for startups. With the current dearth of talent, these students will easily find a job.
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