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As a gateway to the professional world, the Junior Enterprise experience continues to deliver benefits long after graduates secure their first job. This is one of the key findings of the white paper: “Junior Entrepreneurs: Today’s Talent, Tomorrow’s Leaders“, published in 2026 by the French National Confederation of Junior Enterprises (CNJE) and co-produced with IÉSEG CONSEIL Paris, based on a survey of 627 respondents, including 319 alumni of the Junior Enterprise Movement.

83% of the Junior Enterprise Movement alumni surveyed currently hold management or senior management positions, despite most of them being between 25 and 35 years old. More than one in five already manage a team. 

This progression is also reflected in their own perceptions: 52% report a significant increase in their responsibilities since their first job, while 49% describe their career progression as fast or very fast, compared to just 4% who consider it slow. 

Élodie BARTONE, from IÉSEG CONSEIL to Cap Gemini 

For Élodie BARTONE, “my experience at IÉSEG CONSEIL Paris truly opened the door to the consulting world for me. I joined the Junior Enterprise in 2022 as a Project Manager, responsible for recruitment, training and knowledge transfer. Alongside these responsibilities, I also worked on consulting assignments for clients, always supported by more experienced team members. 

This experience proved to be particularly valuable for the next stages of my career. It helped me prepare more effectively for interviews with consulting firms, but above all, it allowed me to start my first internship at Capgemini with an initial understanding of consulting practices: structuring my work, incorporating feedback, communicating with different stakeholders and understanding the expectations behind each deliverable. I then completed a second internship at Deloitte before joining Capgemini full-time, where I currently work on a permanent contract. 

Looking back, what stands out most is that this experience allowed me to learn the codes of the professional world before actually entering it. In my opinion, that is what makes the Junior Enterprise experience so valuable: being entrusted with responsibilities at an early stage, while receiving the guidance needed to learn and grow. It is an experience I still strongly believe in today.”

These career paths are partly shaped by what students experience during their time in a Junior Enterprise… 

Within Junior Enterprises, 64% of the JEs (Junior Entrepreneurs, the students who are members of a Junior Enterprise) surveyed hold a position on their organization’s Executive Board or Board of Directors. They seek out new clients, manage projects, oversee budgets and address complex client challenges, all well before taking on their first professional role. This commitment requires significant dedication: 47% of JEs devote more than 15 hours per week to their Junior Enterprise alongside their studies, and 57% develop their project management skills through this experience. Although the white paper does not establish a causal relationship, this early exposure to responsibility reflects the skills and qualities recruiters recognize in these students. 

This high standard of excellence is upheld by IÉSEG CONSEIL, the School’s Junior Entreprise. The Paris structure was rewarded as France’s Best Junior Enterprise in 2025, while Lille, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2026 and thus being one of the oldest organizations within the Movement, won the EY Award of the Best Consulting Study and the ENGIE ‘Talents of Tomorrow’ Award. Every year, IÉSEG CONSEIL work with around 70 clients, with a high client satisfaction rate.

First job: the figures speak for themselves 

According to the white paper, 94% of the alumni surveyed encountered no major difficulties in finding their first job, while 81% believe their Junior Enterprise experience was acknowledged and valued by recruiters. These findings highlight the benefits of an experience that allows students to engage in real-world professional challenges even before graduating. 

The transition from education to employment is also a key focus of IÉSEG CONSEIL’s work. For the past ten years, the Junior Enterprise has conducted an annual three-month study examining the career integration of IÉSEG alumni. By analyzing graduates’ career paths and the conditions under which they enter the job market, this study provides valuable insights into the relationship between academic education and recruiters’ expectations.

Professional opportunities beyond the Junior Enterprise network

The impact of a Junior Enterprise’s initiatives extends far beyond its own network. Indeed, it can contribute to the career integration of all students at its School, particularly by facilitating connections with companies. 

With this in mind, IÉSEG CONSEIL organizes networking events and workshops bringing together students and professionals from leading companies such as EY, Wavestone, Capgemini and CGI Business Consulting. These events give students the opportunity to discover different career paths, engage directly with recruiters and expand their professional networks, while identifying potential career opportunities. In this way, IÉSEG CONSEIL helps build lasting connections between the School’s students and the professional world. For IÉSEG students, the Junior Enterprise experience takes place alongside their academic studies, bringing them closer to the professional world and helping them make the transition into it. 

“Thank you to all our members for their dedication and hard work, which keep this shared endeavour alive and help it grow. Their commitment reflects an inspiring spirit: young people who continue to step up, take on responsibilities and actively contribute to projects that are bigger than themselves.
Thank you to the companies that trust us with their projects, as well as those that choose to recruit our current and former members. The Junior Enterprise experience is a genuine training ground for commitment, initiative and responsibility. It helps students develop practical skills, grow in maturity and often gives them a real head start in their careers.
Finally, thank you to our partners, to IÉSEG, to our alumni and to everyone who guides and supports us. It is this trust and collective commitment that enable our movement to keep growing, reinventing itself and creating valuable opportunities for the generations who bring it to life“, concludes Amicie COLIN DE VERDIERE, Vice-President of IÉSEG CONSEIL Lille.