emlyon business school future-proof careers with hands-on qualifications beyond the classroom

emlyon business school has partnered with L’atelier des Chefs to give students in its Master in Management program the opportunity to earn a CAP vocational qualification alongside their Master degree, helping them develop practical skills in professions less vulnerable to automation and artificial intelligence.

The initiative allows students to combine elite management education with technical, hands-on training in areas such as culinary arts, pastry-making, carpentry, electrical work, and other skilled trades. Fully integrated into emlyon’s academic pathway, the programme is delivered online, awards ECTS credits, and can be completed alongside students’ regular studies.

Students enrolled in the programme complete around 150 hours of theory and 200 hours of practical training, with the courses offered at a preferential rate. Around 50 students are currently participating, while more than 100 emlyon students and alumni have already completed a CAP qualification with L’atelier des Chefs during their academic or professional journeys.

The partnership reflects a growing shift in student ambitions, where traditional business education is increasingly being combined with practical skills that support entrepreneurship, career flexibility, and long-term employability.

Lionel Sitz, Director of the Master in Management at emlyon business school, said: “This partnership reflects the evolving aspirations of students: enhancing their education at emlyon by discovering new skills to pursue a personal interest, develop an entrepreneurial project, or explore different professional sectors.”

Within L’atelier des Chefs’ wider training offer, culinary arts, pastry-making, and baking represent around 25% of learning pathways, while the remaining 75% span sectors including construction, health and social care, beauty and wellness, decorative arts, and mechanics industries where practical expertise remains highly valued and often difficult to replace through automation.

Isabelle Huault, Executive President & Dean of emlyon business school, said: “This partnership with L’atelier des Chefs fully aligns with emlyon’s distinctive educational approach, which is rooted in learning by doing and the hybridization of skills. By enabling students to combine management education with the acquisition of technical know-how, it broadens the scope of possibilities in terms of academic pathways, entrepreneurial projects, and career trajectories—at the intersection of managerial skills and hands-on, human-centered professions.”

François Bergerault, co-founder of L’atelier des Chefs and an emlyon graduate, added: “This partnership demonstrates how, in the age of artificial intelligence, hands-on and human-centered professions offer incredible opportunities for business creation and scale-up for all emlyon students. The intelligence of the hand is not artificial!”

Former students say the qualifications have also created real career value.

Alix, who completed a CAP in culinary arts during studies at emlyon, said it was valued by recruiters during interviews and continues to help in a current role as HR Director for a restaurant group by improving understanding of operational challenges.

Emilie, another graduate, described completing the qualification as both a personal challenge and an opportunity to deepen one of her passions while learning something practical and hands-on.

The partnership reinforces emlyon’s wider “maker” philosophy, linking action with reflection, and shows how business schools are increasingly preparing students not only for corporate leadership, but for entrepreneurship and careers shaped by human expertise that technology cannot easily replace.

ENDS

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