Beneficial for both the student and the company, work-study programs are a good way to recruit new employees, but training students is no easy task!
The work-study program is an effective way to meet recruitment needs within the company.
« It’s true that, if everything goes well, training a student makes it much easier to hire a new employee with confidence, says Coralie Leneveu, HR Manager. It allows the Group to train new employees by adapting their skills to our businesses. However, you shouldn’t hire a student on a work-study program without preparing the process well in advance. There are several factors to take into account. First of all, there must be a real need so that the work-study program is beneficial for both parties. Then, you have to recruit a profile that corresponds to the missions you want to entrust to him or her and, finally, you have to find a volunteer tutor who will have time to devote to the student throughout his or her apprenticeship. »
The recruitment phase of the work-study students is therefore essential. This is why Groupe FIVA works with various schools with which a trustworthy partnership has been established, among them: the IUT of Lorient, Brest and Saint-Nazaire for the engineering part and the IUT of Cherbourg for the human resources part.
« We work mainly with these schools because the work-study program suits us and we know their curriculum, explains Aurélie Marichal, Recruitment Officer. Some schools have even created specific training programs dedicated to the naval sector, which are therefore adapted to the needs and requirements of our businesses. »
Currently, Groupe FIVA has two work-study students from these schools: Léa Levoy, Work-study Human Resources Assistant, and Axel Darondel, Work-study Small Studies Draftsman.
« I am currently preparing a Professional Degree in HRM at the IUT in Cherbourg, explains Léa Levoy. When I joined Groupe FIVA I had no knowledge of the sector but the activity managers and my tutor, Aurélie Marichal, were very available and thus enabled me to quickly master the Group’s fields of activity. Throughout my work-study period, I was well supported and was able to put into practice what I had learned at school.In addition, the fact that I was working in an SME gave me the opportunity to discover different facets of the business such as sourcing, pre-qualification, job interviews, etc. »
« I’m doing a professional degree in ‘Shipbuilding Industrial Trades’ at the IUT in Lorient, explains Axel Darondel. I joined the DIVA Engineering team at the Naval Group site in Cherbourg. My main mission is to create a database for the Barracuda project. I have to search and sort all the documents related to the project so that all the information related to the project is in the same place. My tutor, Lucie Le Marquand, accompanied me throughout this mission and made me discover her job as well as the different skills present in the platform. It was very enriching because it allowed me to discover different fields of activity. »
A good work-study program obviously depends on the school and the student, but also on the tutor, who plays an essential role. Lucie Le Marquand, Technical Manager and Axel’s tutor, tells us more:« Axel is my first work-study student, before him I had never been a tutor. When I was offered to train a student I accepted with pleasure because I find it interesting to share my skills and to help a future designer discover his job. The role of tutor is not easy because it requires time to train the student correctly. You have to know how to manage your workload while giving time to Axel’s apprenticeship and that is not always easy. The main thing is to make sure that Axel acquires the professional skills he needs by teaching him the right methods, good practices and knowledge. It’s a good experience and I think that for each student we get feedback. »
Axel and Léa’s work-study program will soon come to an end. In September 2021, when they will leave us to continue their training, a new student will join the Group as a Small Design Draftsman to work in the Design Office of the agency and on the Naval Group Cherbourg site.