Oct. 7, 2016 – TBS Aerospace MBA rep. attending AAE-3AF Conference at DGAC “Aeronautics: how to attract and train young people?”

TBS Aerospace MBA representative did attend the Air and Space Academy Conference held at DGAC (French Civil Aviation Authorities) in Paris on October 7, 2016. As stated by the organizers (AAE, 3AF, IESF): “The aviation sector is one of the success stories of European industry. This highly successful, rapidly expanding sector owes its achievements to the quality of its engineers, technicians and skilled workers. 50% of them however are due to retire in the next ten years. Lengthening order books have led to a pressing need for recruitment and yet companies in France cannot find the necessary workforce, despite a high level of unemployment. The problem is the lack of appeal of this industry to young people! In order for these high-end products to be competitive it is essential to master the entire design, development, production and support chain. This one-day conference focuses primarily on production and maintenance jobs, and more specifically technicians and operators. The goal of this forum is to examine the reasons behind this lack of appeal, particularly in France, in the light of the experiences of our European partners, and also to highlight training shortcomings noted by companies, with the aim of putting forward guidelines for improving the situation. The conference is addressed at a wide range of stakeholders: businesses of all sizes, education authorities and training organisations, national and regional policymakers, social partners, parents, etc. The media will have a crucial role to play in the project.”

 

Presentation and opening speeches

• Philippe COUILLARD, president of French Air and Space Academy (AAE)
• Patrick GANDIL, managing director of French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC)

Current situation and future stakes for the aeronautics industry by  Jean-Paul HERTEMAN Honorary president of  French Aerospace Industries Association (GIFAS)

Session 1 – Employment opportunities and appeal of aeronautics trades

Moderator: Stéphane FORT, Head of Communication, Dassault Aviation

Present and future trades, viewpoint of a major group

• Frédéric LHERM,  Head of Industrial Operations, Dassault Aviation

Present and future trades, viewpoint of SMEs

• Alain KEREBEL, President of Sedemeca

Questions, discussion with the floor

 

 

Session 2 – Initial and continuous training

Moderator: Stéphane FORT, Head of  Communication, Dassault Aviation

German courses

• Wolfgang KOSCHEL,  Former Chairman of  the Propulsion Institute of  DLR, VP of Air & Space Academy (AAE)

French courses, a dual perspective

• Jacques CHÉRITEL, Academic Delegate to Executive Education, Académie de Créteil
• Julien HENRY, Head of cooperation with Education, Dassault Aviation

Questions, discussion with the floor

Session 3 – Examples of best practices

Moderator: Michel POLACCO, AAE, Journalist, France-Inter, France-Info, aviator

Airbus-France approach: shared courses, work-study contracts, best practices charter with subcontractors

• Marc JOUENNE, HR Director, Airbus-France

Examples of pooling of efforts between local authorities (educational and regional) and companies

• Philippe EUDELINE, President, Normandie AeroEspace

Example of a technological training platform for careers in industrial mechanics

• Philippe BOULAN, Director of Safran University & of Campus Safran, SAFRAN

Maintenance training in Air France Industries

• Jerôme IVANOFF, HR Director, Air France Industries

Questions, discussion with the floor

Session 4 – Round table • recommendations • conclusions • further actions

Moderator: Michel POLACCO, AAE, Journalist, France-Inter & France-Info, aviator

Round table

• Pascale COSTA, inspectrice de l’éducation nationale, groupe sciences et techniques industrielles, filière aéronautique
• Philippe DUJARIC, Director of Social Affairs, GIFAS
• Marc JOUENNE, HR Director of Airbus France
• Gilles LODOLO, directeur emploi-formation de l’UIMM
• Dominique THIBOUT, ex directeur de CGR (PME francilienne) 

Closing speech

• Marwan LAHOUD, President of GIFAS

 

Out of all the discussions several quotes might be highlighted:

Philippe Couillard: “Young people are required in the industry & supply chain”

Patrick Gandil: “Huge stakes for the industry, for French economy as well: job creations for well-trained young people”

Jean-Paul Herteman: “Current & future stakes: French excellence, jobs created, civil aviation, bizjet, helicopters & new competition” ; “French engineers passioned by aerospace think out of the box : HR is crucial”; “Engineering schools are excellent but need to reinforce their weight and their research”; “Challenge: Lack of high skilled workforce in the factories & workshops notably in SMEs”

Frédéric Lherm: “Diverse jobs by far more than just engineering or hard manufacturing”; “Journeymen more than a specialized workers (experience, autonomy…)”; “Rich & growing aerospace specialized supply chain, source of competitiveness”

Alain Kerebel: “Aerospace industry is not a videogame, it requires involvement, endeavor and ability to take responsibility”; “Offer perspectives, train to larger skills… how to nurture and retain young talents”

Session 1: “A real issue: attracting talents as interns in SMEs, think beyond large aerospace groups!”; “Using + social medias, sensitizing professors,+ collaboration between large org & SMEs ideas to attract young talents”; “SMEs to be part of steering committees in schools and universities”

Wolfgang Koschel: “Lower level of women in aerospace Engineering in Germany compared to France”; “DLR initiative: school lab, main drivers: fascination & hands-on”; “More women to join the industry: girls day!”

Jacques Chéritel: “More apprenticeship, more tracks in aerospace over the past decades”; “Improving the image of vocational training is required in France”; “Regions are more & more involved in education, enabling more apprenticeships”

Julien Henry: “Vocational training is very important!”; “Comparison with USA, French operators/workers in aerospace manufacturing are + autonomous, take initiatives, develop critical thinking”; “Knowledge, skills are great but attitude and behaviour are crucial”

Session 3

Marc Jouenne: “Best practices: apprenticeship is excellent learning process for the young people and our managers”; “120 in-house apprentices ‘bac to BTS’, agreement with Eng & Business schools”; “Working together: immersion weeks for Spanish German French apprentices”; “Job speed dating (including partners) for apprentices”;

Philippe Eudeline: “400-500 recruitments per year in Normandie Aerospace”; “Human capital: identifying, training, retaining talents”; “100 aerospace jobs offered and internships proposed at NAE”

Philippe Boulan: “Despite the brand awareness of large groups (employer branding), same issue of recruiting the right people”;”Massive retirement in the coming years in the industry & factory of future”; “14000 out of 100000 aerospace employees are working in factories, and 4000 out of them will get retired soon”; “Ramp-up: now 100 leap engines manufactured a year versus 2000 by 2020”; “Technical training at Safran, 8M€ budget (funded by public bodies up to 70%)”

Jérôme Ivanoff: “Various profiles are required for Maintenance at Air France Industries”; “Difficult to recruit women in mechanical jobs”

Session 4

“Robots instead of skilled workers? No, cobots to provide support for higher efficiency of the journeymen!”

“Reverse mentoring does work”

“Big stakes: 40% of the jobs to be soon replaced”

Closing Address by Marwan Lahoud

Marwan Lahoud: “Industry 4.0 still about men and women but with higher skills, it’s not a no man’s land”; “Industry: source of wealth, source of innovation”; “185000 jobs in France, 60000 jobs this past few years, 3000 new jobs in manufacturing this year 2016 in France”; “Aerospace industry is well perceived & appreciated but there is a lack of basic competences”; “Much more women in aerospace in Morocco or in Turkey (including in engineering, above 50%)”; “”Avion des métiers” a tool for sharing information and arouse interest in aerospace”; “Better and positively advise young people at school about their career: industry is an opportunity not a punishment!”; “Sensitizing to the industry & science, going further and faster regarding apprenticeship”; “More info about industry in the media to change its perceived image, not just for maths addict or golden hands”; Intimate and embedded activities between educational and industrial worlds”