NextStage AM joins two historic shareholders, BNP Paribas Développement and Sofilaro, in the capital of ForProf, the French leader in preparation for the Recruitment Competition for School Teachers (CRPE). The operation allows entrepreneurs to strengthen their capital in the continuity of the first fundraising carried out in 2018. With this investment of €3,5m within the Capital Entrepreneur investment program, NextStage AM affirms its desire to support the major challenge of training in the service of the quality of public and private primary education, which is essential to student success.
The Court of Auditors, in a recent report, underlines the growing difficulties in recruiting school teachers: more than a thousand candidates would have been missing compared to the number of positions to be filled in the context of external teacher competitions over the period 2017 – 2021. This gap tends to become structural and leads to the recruitment of non-tenured teachers, which could ultimately degrade the quality of education and reinforce inequalities between students.
Created in 1996 by Patrick Foglia then taken over following his death in 2016 by three key executives, Brigitte Buisson, Aurélie Lempérière and Patrick Petit, ForProf has established itself as the private national reference player in the training of teachers in the 1st degree and in particular preparation for the recruitment competition and the profession of school teachers.
ForProf has developed an omnichannel support model for trainees: the training institute offers both face-to-face courses (via a network of 84 centres) and distance courses thanks to the implementation of innovative digital tools (videoconferences , e-learning platforms, etc.). This hybrid format guarantees a level of excellence and rigorous and complete support, representing an axis of quality differentiation from its competitors. It also makes it possible to reach candidates with various needs, whether they are students or in professional retraining. Classes are taught by more than 300 experienced teachers from the National Education system. Recognized for the quality of its services, ForProf obtained Qualiopi certification in 2019 and then in 2022.
Teachers trained and supported by ForProf are better prepared for the job and less inclined to resign in the first years of taking up their duties, a major concern of National Education. It should be noted that the number of resigning teachers has been rising steadily for ten years. Since 2009, the number of resignations of primary and secondary school teachers has tripled. Thanks to its experience, its business expertise and its concrete training solutions, ForProf gives teachers the resources and tools necessary to perform their profession to the best of their ability and invest in the long term.
ForProf makes itself known to candidates through its original and effective working method, the quality of its content and its vast network of alumni ambassadors. The training institute has supported more than 65 trainees since its creation, ie approximately 000% of the teachers currently in activity. ForProf's strategy of excellence is bearing fruit, 10 trainees have been awarded the top of their class over the last 75 years.
In parallel with the preparation for the CRPE, the group has also developed two complementary offers:
- Prof's Factory : a continuing education offer launched in 2011 to support public and private sector teachers during their first years of teaching. This offer includes pedagogical coaching, internships to take control of and manage their first class, as well as turnkey resources to organize lessons and respond to their daily problems. To facilitate the evolution of teachers within the National Education, the institute also offers preparations for the IEN, CAFIPEMF competition, professional interviews and skills assessments;
- ForProf School : launched in 2022, ForProf School is an educational support offer for the children of company employees (from primary to high school) and provided by school teachers trained in pedagogy.
NextStage AM's investment in the capital of ForProf will make it possible to strengthen the human and material resources for the marketing of these two offers which represent important axes of diversification in parallel with the strengthening of the existing offer towards training for private teachers. ForProf will continue to develop its continuing education offer for teachers in French-speaking countries, particularly in Africa through the Fabrique du Prof. Finally, ForProf also wants to revolutionize the education sector by creating a specialized recruitment agency that would provide replacement teachers, trained, evaluated and assisted on a daily basis in taking charge of the class. Ultimately, the company aims to become the leading private player in the education sector and in the training of public and private teachers.
“The performance of our education system owes a lot to the quality of teachers. Therefore, it is essential to reinvest the field of training to attract new recruits and keep them. We were seduced by ForProf, currently the only specialist in CRPE training, both by its project and by the vision and commitment of its two leaders. Their proximity to teacher trainers and more than 25 years of know-how translate into a very high level of quality in the training provided. Our participation in ForProf is also fully in line with our ESG strategy, whether in terms of mixed management, the company's societal mission and the values upheld by its teams, which combine equal opportunities and high standards", declares Nicolas de Saint Etienne, Managing Partner, head of the unlisted activity of NextStage AM.
“NextStage AM immediately grasped our raison d'être and the issues related to teacher training. We also thank our historical investors BNP Paribas Développement and Sofilaro for their renewed confidence. This operation will allow us to continue our investment in the development of the skills of tenured or contract teachers to improve student success. In addition to the continuous quality of our offers, we wish to continue our involvement with National Education to support people in professional retraining or students in the teaching profession by offering them initial and continuous training followed by real support for assess its implementation and effectiveness” adds Brigitte Buisson, Managing Director of ForProf.
“We invested in ForProf 5 years ago and are happy to continue to support the leadership team in this new stage to help improve the training of school teachers and student success. We are delighted to welcome NextStage AM in this adventure. conclude Luc Pascal and Rémy Juvenon, at BNP Paribas Development.
Actors of the operation
Investor Advisor: Nova Partners: Olivier Nett – OlivierNett@novapartners.fr / Marvin Nasri- marvinnasri@novapartners.fr
Financial Due Diligence Investors: Mazars: Baptiste Faye– baptiste.faye@mazars.fr; Jacques Heugas - jacques.heugas@mazars.fr
Transaction advisor: BNP Paribas SMID Corporate Advisor: Gaëtan Becavin – gaetan.becavin@bnpparibas.com; Isabelle Penaud isabelle.penaud@bnpparibas.com; Antoine Le Floch – antoine.lefloch@bnpparibas.com; Elodie Marie – elodie.6.marie@bnpparibas.com
About Forprof
The National Institute for the Training of School Teachers, ForProf, has been preparing for the recruitment competition and the profession of School Teacher for 26 years. A little over 65 trainees have been supported in this profession and the Institute is still as convinced as ever that its vocation is to bring to life that of its trainees: to become a school teacher. A profession of passion and requirement towards which ForProf is proud to support the many trainees in retraining or students each year. With ForProf, trainees benefit from the services of a training institute that has received Qualiopi quality certification, guaranteeing the quality of its preparations. The institute trains everywhere in France, Metropolitan France and DOM-TOM. The 000 trainers who work at ForProf have been correctors or examiners of the competition; they are all National Education graduates and have worked in primary or secondary education. Each year, the teaching team designs original preparations adapted to the expectations of the CRPE. ForProf favors a complete and global training in the competition and recommends a reverse course method which is the one that future teachers will have to bring to life in class. At ForProf, complete and benevolent support is guaranteed, which will require rigor and personal investment – this support has already satisfied more than 300 out of 9 trainees each year.
About NextStage AM
An independent management company based in Paris, approved by the AMF, NextStage AM, which has cultivated since the beginning in 2002, an "entrepreneur-investor" philosophy, is one of the pioneers and leaders of innovative and patient development capital in France. NextStage AM has developed, step by step, a multi-strategy Private Equity platform which represents in terms of assets at the end of December 2022, directly and indirectly, €7.5 billion in AUM. NextStage AM invests in a limited number of SMEs and ETIs (89 portfolio companies as of 31/12/2022), French and European, innovative and growing, to which it provides entrepreneurial expertise as an investor and strong operational support (integration environmental innovation, talents, international, external growth). NextStage AM provides long-term support to these SMEs and ETIs involved in smart health, environmental innovation and digital. It gives them the means to accelerate their development and their capacity for innovation to become the “Champions” of their markets, both in France and internationally, through organic and/or external growth.
About BNP Paribas Development
BNP Paribas Development, an independent subsidiary of the international banking group BNP Paribas, is a public limited company that has invested its own funds directly for more than 30 years as a minority shareholder to support the development of high-performance SMEs and ETIs and ensure their sustainability by facilitating their transmission. Beyond the financial resources made available to the company to ensure stable resources, the vocation of BNP Paribas Development is to provide long-term support to the management team in carrying out its medium-term strategic projects. Our minority position ensures our partners appropriate governance without interference in day-to-day management, while benefiting from the strength of a recognized group and the experience of a partner with a portfolio of more than 500 diversified holdings.
About SOFILARO
SOFILARO is the subsidiary, specializing in private equity, of the Regional Banks of Crédit Agricole du Languedoc and Sud Méditerranée. Created in 1983, its objective is to support entrepreneurs in the region in their creation, development or transmission projects, without sector specialization. With 100 companies in the portfolio and €230 million in assets under management, SOFILARO is positioned as a leading player in capital investment in the region.
Press Contacts
NextStage AM: Jonathan Boudin – jbo@nextstage.com – (+33) 1 44 29 99 04
Shan: Laurence Tovi – laurence.tovi@shan.fr – (+33) 6 20 58 29 02 / Lola Gozlan –
lola.gozlan@shan.fr – (+33) 6 24 76 83 40 / Anne-Laure Daulier – al.daulier@shan.fr – (+33) 6 28 59 50 38
