Ten years after the creation of the Métiers d’Excellence Institute – a pioneering program to preserve and pass on exceptional know-how – LVMH has successfully established the world’s leading private-sector training ecosystem for uniquely skilled professions.
With an audience including learners, executives, creatives, human resources teams, experts and partners, SHOW ME Paris was a dazzling tribute to the talents who practice the LVMH Group’s 280 professions of exceptional savoir-faire. Through a series of video shot in France, Switzerland, Italy and Japan, LVMH took visitors on an immersive journey around the world showcasing four talents – an apprentice bootmaker, a virtuoso cooper, a sales advisor and a master watchmaker trainer. Their captivating stories illustrate the virtuous circle of skills transmission.
After noting that the very first class counted just 27 learners, LVMH Group Executive Vice President Human Resources and Synergies Chantal Gaemperle – who led the creation of the LVMH Métiers d’Excellence Institute in 2014 – said she was delighted to see the tremendous growth of this trailblazing program, which this year will welcome more than 520 new learners from diverse backgrounds, both young people embarking on vocational training as well as people pursuing reskilling opportunities.
“This evening, in this iconic venue, I am absolutely thrilled to celebrate a decade of commitment to preserving and recognizing our Métiers d’Excellence. Over the past 10 years more than 3,300 apprentices have been trained by the Métiers d’Excellence Institute, many of whom have joined our Maisons. LVMH is deeply committed to preserving these exceptional skills at our Maisons and throughout different regions where we are present, ensuring that they are passed on to new generations, and at the same time actively supporting career-long learning” she said.
LVMH has become a widely-recognized leader in vocational training as it resolutely continues to inspire vocations and reveal remarkable talents. Among the program’s many success stories is Maxime Fradin, an apprentice in the very first ME Institute class – named Best Apprentice in France at the age of just 19 and now a jeweler with Chaumet – who joined Chantal Gaemperle on stage to talk about his exemplary journey.
Speakers during the evening included French Minister of Labor and Employment Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet, Bernard Arnault, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of LVMH, and Maria Grazia Chiuri, Creative Director for Dior Couture Women’s Collections, all of whom paid tribute to the 110,000 women and men at LVMH who practice exceptional skills.
For this anniversary celebration, ten creations were unveiled during the ceremony as an homage to the Maisons’ exceptional savoir-faire. They included a t-shirt for learners designed by Guillaume Henry of Patou, a scarf created by Kenzo for talents who completed courses at the Métiers d’Excellence Academy, a trunk presenting cognac know-how, designed in collaboration with Hennessy, and fragrance portraits created especially for the event by Francis Kurkdjian.
Hosted by TV presenter Maïtena Biraben and artist Pierre de Maere, the evening was resolutely future-facing as LVMH announced the extension of its training programs to China in 2024.
A year after the announcement of a future LVMH Maison des Métiers d’Excellence in Paris, the Group revealed further details. Designer Ramy Fischler will have a hand in the architecture for the building, and Maria Grazia Chiuri has created a tapestry entitled “La Sagesse de des Mains” (“The Wisdom of the Hands”) with the Chanakya embroidery atelier to be featured in it. In addition, young talents studying at the Institute have been invited to take part in its stained-glass design competition. The Maison des Métiers d’Excellence will open in 2026, further strengthening the LVMH Group’s engagement with vocational training and promotion of skilled métiers.
LVMH also announced a partnership with Campus Mode, Métiers d’Art et Design at the Gobelins tapestry manufacture as part of the France 2030 program. The partnership will support a project called Re-SOuRCE to create a digital conservatory of gestures and know-how, fusing technology, robotics and artificial intelligence.
The ceremony ended with a presentation of brooches designed by Louis Vuitton Artistic Director of Watches and Jewelry Francesca Amfitheatrof and crafted in the Maison’s ateliers to the fourth cohort of Virtuosos. Brevets d’Excellence certificates were then presented to learners who have completed their Métiers d’Excellence Institute courses, as well as to employees who have completed training at LVMH’s Métiers d’Excellence Academy.
LVMH METIERS D’EXCELLENCE: EXCEPTIONAL RESULTS
LVMH Métiers d’Excellence programs pass on a wide range of expertise to all generations through a range of programs.
- Raising awareness among middle-school students and sparking vocations with “Excellent!”: Since the launch of the program, more than 5,300 middle-school students have been introduced to the Group’s crafts and expertise during 184 information sessions.
- Orienting candidates to relevant training opportunities and job offers thanks to the You & ME Tour: The tour visited five French cities in 2024, promoting more than 3,500 offers for internships, work-study, fixed-term or open-ended contracts. In addition, some 1,000 opportunities are being offered in Italy. Since the launch of the tour in 2022 more than 24,000 visitors have turned out to discover LVMH métiers.
- Training the Group’s future talents with the “Institut des Métiers d’Excellence”: The Institute welcomed a new class of more than 500 new learners for the 2024 academic year in eight countries (France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Japan, Germany, the United States and China). Learners have chosen from 71 training course, 60 of them with custom-tailored content. The members of this latest cohort range in age from 15 to 56, and a third of them are pursuing retraining opportunities, reflecting the diversity of career paths and profiles. Since 2014, over 3,300 learners have received training at the Métiers d’Excellence Institute. An impressive 93% of learners have earned their diplomas at partner schools, and 73% have found positions in the profession they learned at LVMH.
- Develop continuing training in highly-skilled professions: 304 programs worldwide enabled more than 30,000 people who practice Métiers d’Excellence to further hone their skills.
- Celebrating exceptional talents and their excellence in the practice of their métiers through the community of LVMH Virtuosos: Created in 2021, this community welcomed 68 new Virtuosos from around the world in 2024. Each of them embodies the excellence of time-honored savoir-faire and an exemplary career journey at LVMH Maisons. They embark on custom-tailored development programs and are encouraged to share their passion and savoir-faire with new generations.
Source – LVMH
