Moving to France and Retraining: Real Life

September in France is all about La Rentrée – the return to school. It’s not just for children though, there are plenty of training opportunities for adults too, as Gillian Harvey finds out…

Stewart and Fiona Paterson, La Rochefoucauld

The Patersons had always had a love of France, often holidaying in the country, and had discussed the possibility of moving there. Then came a now-or-never moment.

“I’d been a freelance computer programmer for many years, but the market had become saturated in the early 2000s, driving rates down. I started learning how to plumb – teaching myself as I went – in the hope of a career change. But we were living in Ascot with a high mortgage and it was difficult to make ends meet,” says Stewart.

“We considered moving to Wales, then thought – if we’re going to uproot the family, why not go to France?” The pair’s two children, Callan 27 and Briony 25, were three and six at the time, so it was a great opportunity for the children to become bilingual. However, while Stewart had hoped to find plumbing work on arrival, things didn’t pan out as planned.

“Like a lot of people, I hadn’t done enough research. There wasn’t much work about, and without qualifications I was only offered employment as an unskilled labourer.” However, the job he was offered at a local tile factory turned out to be an excellent move. “My GCSE French soon improved and having the job also meant we were quickly in the social security system.”

Stewart worked at the factory for seven years, which was followed by three years working as a printer. Then in 2012, he was made redundant. “I went to the job centre (Pôle Emploi) and was given the opportunity to retrain as a heating engineer. It was a nine-month course, which was fully funded and I was given money to help with living costs while I studied.”

The training was full time and took place at a technical college, with work experience midway through the course. And due to the demand for heating engineers, Stewart had a job waiting for him the moment he qualified. “The technical college was well-known and companies would come in and recruit before we’d even finished training.”Graphic designer Fiona opted to spend their early years in France looking after the couple’s young family and working on her sculpture.

But in 2019 she decided to look for paid work. Like Stewart she visited the job centre and was offered the chance to train as an electrician. “The full-time course was at the same technical college Stewart trained at and offered both classroom work and practical work experience. While my French was good, it was lucky that the teacher was originally from Ireland and I could ask for clarification in English on occasion.”

Fiona passed her exams just prior to lockdown in 2020. Once things opened up again, she decided to look for short-term contract work rather than a full-time position. “I’m registered with a temping agency that arranges contracts lasting between a week and a month. They also deal with all my taxes – so I just do my work and go home at the end of the day. “I’m still picking up contracts, but my sculpture work is gaining traction. It’s great that I can balance this with my day job.”

Sian Griffiths, Nîmes

PR specialist Sian Griffiths and her husband Philip, a former Lieutenant Colonel in the British Army, had lived in Hong Kong for decades when, in 2016, they decided to move to pastures new. “I’d been in Hong Kong for 30 years at the time, working my way up in the tourism industry, and I loved my work,” says Sian. Philip had been there for 20 years handling the closing-down logistics.

The pair both had a love of France and already owned a flat in Nîmes, where they holidayed regularly, so it seemed like the ideal place to choose, especially as Sian already spoke fluent French. “We looked at lots of different places but we loved Nîmes and already knew it well, so decided to settle there.” After making the move in 2016, Sian set about finding suitable work. “I love tourism and started to look into the field. I applied to do a course at a nearby university, but sadly didn’t get a place.” Then a friend told Sian about the CNAM – Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers.

“It’s an organisation that helps people to change careers. To be a tour guide in France working for tour operators or offices, museums or anything government-run, you need a licence. When I found that CNAM runs tour-guide training in Paris, it seemed ideal.”

Sian enrolled on the part-time, year-long course in January 2017 and thoroughly enjoyed her studies. “It was a really international group. We had a retired architect, a couple from Air France and a geologist. So a really fascinating mix. The course included trips to the Louvre, various practical exercises around Paris and lots of in-classroom theory on four consecutive days each month. We also had to do a two-month internship over the summer.”

Assignments involved preparing, researching and presenting on guiding topics, as well as projects and a written submission about the internship. Finally, there was an interview before a panel. Fortunately, around the same time Arles and Nîmes tourist boards had written to CNAM to ask if they had any students from the south who spoke English – and Sian was offered a contract with them.

“To qualify, I had to carry out a nerve-wracking test in French, talking for 20 minutes on a given subject. But I passed and was given work in the river cruise industry. All the ships need guides with good English, so it was perfect.”

Sian now carries out her work closer to home, at locations around Nîmes. “I love it – there’s always plenty of work, but I choose contracts that suit me and work around my life,” she says. “Completing the course has given me so many opportunities.” In December 2017, Sian passed her final exams and received her licence.

Teri Fox, Brittany

When Teri Fox moved to Brittany in 2007 with her then husband (they have since separated), she was hoping for an easier pace of life, made possible by the lower property prices and the chance for them to own land. Having worked in the fitness industry for many years. as well as being a qualified massage therapist, Teri hoped to get work in the health and fitness sector. However, she knew she had to improve her ‘schoolgirl’ French before she started her job hunt.
As a first step, in 2008 Teri enrolled on a full-time, nine-month French programme with an organisation called GRETA (Groupements d’Etablissements), which runs adult learning centres. “Although I wasn’t completely fluent at the end, I had a better understanding of both written and spoken French; I’ve worked hard since and am now fluent,” Teri explains.

Once she felt her language was up to the task, she contacted the managers of a local fitness organisation to see if they had any suitable work. “They said I’d need a French diploma rather than my British qualifications and experience to teach with them.

“But then they made me an offer. I could come to work with them, provided I also studied for a relevant qualification CQPALS (Certificat de Qualification Professionnelle Animateur de Loisir Sportif). They even offered to pay for my training!

“While I already had a great deal of existing knowledge in the fitness arena, learning  my craft once again, but in French, was quite a challenge. I qualified in 2010 and began to teach fitness classes including step and zumba, as well as fitness for people with heart and lung conditions.”

Sadly, in 2019 a knee injury forced Teri to change direction. “Having a bad knee made it impossible to continue working full time as a fitness instructor. I had also realised that I’d probably need to change careers eventually to something more sedentary,” she explains. “As I was already a qualified massage therapist, I decided to explore the possibility of becoming a beautician and spa therapist. “I went to the job centre for advice and was offered the chance to take a fully funded course in aesthetics, cosmetology and perfumery at a specialist beauty school based in St-Brieuc.”

As her O-levels had not been validated in France, Teri was also required to sit several exams, including in maths, French and science. In 2020, she qualified as a beautician, with additional qualifications in reflexology, lymphatic drainage and hot stone massage. She has since studied more courses including bamboo massage and reiki.

Having spent five years working in several salons and spas, including Yves Rocher, and managing a beauty salon for a Breton cosmetic company, Teri has now created treatment rooms at the home she shares with new husband Patrice, 46, and in 2025 opened her own beauty salon.

Since her move, Teri has enjoyed an interesting and varied career and feels very fortunate to have had the chance to retrain. “France has given me lots of opportunities and I’m very grateful.”

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