Association Pour l'Emploi des Cadres

What Association Pour l'Emploi des Cadres does

Association Pour l'Emploi des Cadres (APEC) is a French paritarian non-profit association founded in 1966 under the Law of July 1, 1901, designated by national collective agreement (ANI of July 12, 2011) as the dedicated public service body for executive employment in France. It operates a hybrid service model combining a digital job board platform (apec.fr) with a nationwide network of 600 recruitment consultants in regional centers across metropolitan France and overseas territories. The platform serves more than 750,000 executive profiles, 25,000 monthly recruiter visitors, and 100,000+ daily job opportunities, complemented by a consumer-facing website with 1.5M+ monthly visitors and native iOS and Android applications.

The product surface includes the core job board with AI-assisted CV analysis and candidate-to-offer matching scores, an AI-powered Trajectoires career path planning tool, salary and interview simulators, a CV builder, the Data Cadres market intelligence tool, and the Observatoire de l'emploi cadre research arm publishing 50+ studies per year on executive employment trends. APEC also delivers specialized programs including #NégoTraining salary negotiation workshops for female executives and Novapec, a social innovation funding program launched in 2023. The technology stack integrates with the French SI-CPF (Personal Training Account Information System) for training data sharing and embeds accessibility layers (FACIL'iti, Acceo) for users with disabilities.

APEC is funded by a mandatory 0.06% contribution on executive salaries (capped at four times the social security ceiling), split 0.036% from employers and 0.024% from employees and collected by Agirc-Arrco. All candidate services are provided free of charge, while employer-side access to the CV database and recruitment advisory is bundled into the levy. Governance is paritarian, with employer organizations (MEDEF, CPME, U2P) and employee unions jointly overseeing the organization. In 2025 APEC served more than 26,000 companies and 230,000 executives and young graduates, and posted a 98/100 score on the French gender equality index.

Name

Association Pour l'Emploi des Cadres

Legal name

Association Pour l'Emploi des Cadres

Website

https://apec.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1966

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

APEC is France's paritarian non-profit dedicated to executive employment, founded in 1966. It operates a national job board, a 600-consultant advisory network, and an employment research observatory, funded by mandatory employer-employee contributions on executive salaries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Employment Services

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131), Executive Search Services (561312)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Onboarding, Offboarding & Employee Lifecycle Administration (BPACAHAL)

Keywords

• Executive employment services
• Job board platform
• Career counseling services
• Recruitment consulting
• Executive job placement

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Mandatory Membership Cotization: APEC is funded by a mandatory 0.06% contribution on executive salaries (capped at 4x the social security ceiling), with 0.036% paid by employers and 0.024% by employees. Collected by Agirc-Arrco retirement institutions.
2. Free Services for Candidates: Free services for job-seeking executives and graduates, funded by the mandatory cotisations from companies

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

APEC operates a comprehensive executive employment ecosystem combining a leading job board platform (apec.fr) with over 100,000 daily active job listings and 750,000+ executive profiles, a national network of 600+ recruitment consultants providing personalized career counseling and recruitment advisory services, and the Observatoire de l'emploi cadre which publishes 50+ research studies annually on executive employment trends and salary benchmarks.

Product overview

Apec operates a comprehensive executive employment ecosystem combining a leading job board platform with personalized advisory services and labor market research. The core offering consists of the apec.fr job board with over 100,000 active listings and AI-powered candidate-recruiter matching, supported by a national network of 600+ recruitment consultants. Complementary tools include Data Cadres for market insights, salary and interview simulators, CV building, and the Trajectoires career planning tool. The Observatoire de l'emploi cadre publishes ongoing research on executive employment trends, while specialized initiatives address professional equality (#NégoTraining) and regional employment disparities through events and the Novapec social innovation program.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Apec Job Board Leading French executive job board with over 100,000 daily active job listings, 750,000 executive profiles, and AI-powered matching between candidates and employers.
• Consultant Advisory Services Career counseling services provided by 600+ recruitment consultants across France and overseas territories. Includes job search support, resume optimization, career transition guidance, and business creation advice.
• Observatoire de l'emploi cadre Research observatory analyzing executive employment trends, publishing approximately 50 studies annually on recruitment practices, professional trajectories, and skill evolution.
• Trajectoires AI-powered career trajectory tool to help professionals visualize and plan their career development paths.
• Novapec Social innovation support program that financially supports projects by ESS (Social and Solidarity Economy) actors addressing APEC's public service missions, including professional equality and environmental sustainability.
• Recruitment Barometer Quarterly barometer tracking executive recruitment intentions and market trends across France.
• Career Evolution Consulting (CEP) Public service for career transition, internal mobility, training, and business creation counseling for executives.
• #NégoTraining Workshop Workshop dedicated to female executives to support salary negotiation skills. 3-hour training sessions combining theory and practice. Over 4,000 women executives accompanied since launch.
• Regional Events Career events organized across French regions connecting executives with employers, including job fairs and networking opportunities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2 million+ job postings and 35 million visits in 2025
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability3 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ANDRHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 June 2026APEC and ANDRH (Association Nationale des Directeurs des Ressources Humaines) collaborate annually on the 'Baromètre Apec-ANDRH' - a comprehensive study on how executives perceive HR functions. The 2026 edition revealed that executive satisfaction with HR has never been higher (64%), yet only half would turn to HR for career development discussions.
• Prism'emploicoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 July 2024Partnership agreement signed between Prism'emploi and APEC Grand Est region to work towards insertion and professional transitions for executives and young graduates, while securing their career paths. The partnership aims to strengthen relations between national and territorial networks of both organizations. Key initiatives include facilitating connections between executives/graduates and employment agencies, sensitizing seniors to opportunities in temporary work, and enabling employment agencies to better understand APEC's recruitment advice services. The agreement is for 3 years with annual evaluation.
• NovapecminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023APEC's social innovation support program launched in September 2023 to financially support social innovation projects by ESS (Social and Solidarity Economy) actors addressing APEC's public service missions. Supported projects include gender equality initiatives like 'Féminisons les métiers d'avenir' and programs for women in QPV (priority urban neighborhoods).
• AudenciacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Partnership with Audencia business school to develop and generalize the #NégoTraining workshop dedicated to female executives for salary negotiation training. Sessions include 3 hours of theory and practice. A Mooc version is also available. Over 4,000 female executives have been supported since the launch.
• Chaire Impact Positif d'AudenciaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on the 'Baromètre de l'égalité professionnelle' - a survey conducted with OpinionWay on gender equality in the workplace
• France TravailcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with France Travail on statistical portraits of job-seeking senior executives, providing data on employment challenges for workers over 50 seeking executive positions
• DGEFPcoreOthersDirection Générale à l'Emploi et à la Formation Professionnelle (DGEFP) - co-controller with Caisse des dépôts of the SI-CPF (Personal Training Account Information System), collecting NIR data from APEC to implement training data sharing
• Caisse des dépôts et consignationscoreOthersCo-controller with DGEFP of the SI-CPF (Personal Training Account Information System), collecting NIR (social security number) data from APEC to implement training data sharing

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• France Travail (formerly Pôle Emploi): France's national public employment agency serving all job seekers, not just executives. Highly comparable as a paritarian/public-mandated employment services organization, with overlapping job board and advisory offerings, though broader in scope than APEC's executive-focused mandate.
• ManpowerGroup France: Large global staffing and workforce solutions provider with French operations across all employment categories including executives. Comparable in providing recruitment services to French employers with a hybrid digital-plus-consultant model, though broader in scope than APEC.

Direct peers

• LinkedIn: Global professional network with dominant executive job board, recruiter tools, and professional profile database. Direct competitor for both APEC's candidate traffic and recruiter mindshare in France, with substantially larger scale but no paritarian mandate or local advisory network.
• Indeed France: Leading generalist job board with significant executive-level traffic in France. Direct competitor on the recruiter advertising and candidate application sides of APEC's marketplace, though without the curated advisory or executive specialization.
• Michael Page: Global executive search and permanent placement firm with strong French operations. Direct competitor for APEC's recruiter-side services and executive placement activity, particularly for mid-to-senior cadre roles that fall within both organizations' scope.
• Hays France: International recruitment firm specializing in qualified professionals and executives. Comparable as a commercial counterpart offering recruitment advisory and job matching to French employers and executive candidates, competing directly for the same recruiter budgets APEC accesses via cotisations.
• Robert Half France: Global staffing and executive search firm serving French employers with finance, technology, and administrative placements. Comparable business model combining job matching with consultant-led advisory, addressing the same employer segment APEC serves.
• Cadreo: French executive job board and career site targeting cadres and managers—exactly APEC's segment. Direct competitor on the digital job marketplace side, though without APEC's mandated funding or 600-strong consultant network.

Emerging players

• Welcome to the Jungle: French-born digital job platform and employer branding content publisher focused on professional and early-career audiences. Comparable as a digital-native job marketplace and employer brand channel competing for the same candidate traffic APEC captures in France.
• Glassdoor: Jobs and company reviews platform owned by Indeed/Recruit. Comparable as a digital job marketplace and candidate research tool, competing for recruiter advertising spend and candidate awareness in the French executive segment.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Apecfr
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@Apec09
• Facebookfr-fr.facebook.com/apec
• LinkedInfr.linkedin.com/company/apec
• Instagraminstagram.com/apec_officiel/?hl=fr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Association Pour l'Emploi des Cadres