The battle is under way among subcontractors to recruit, at a time when the entire aeronautical sector is regaining strength, driven by the production rates of Airbus, the main contractor in Occitan territory. Problem, the candidates do not jostle, and this difficulty forces companies in the sector, mainly concentrated around Toulouse, with nearly 90,000 employees, to rethink their method of recruitment.
This is the case of Satys Aerospace, a subsidiary of the group of the same name, specializing in painting and surface treatment from Blagnac (Haute-Garonne), in the Toulouse suburbs. “For the past year, we have been living in a somewhat incredible era, with a very strong recovery in activitywelcomes Grégory Mayeur, the general manager, who will inaugurate a new painting room on March 21. Here we go again for double-digit growth over several years. »
If it is not that the leader observes a shortage ” unprecedented “ qualified painters and sealers on the market. “Employees have turned away from aeronautics, he observes. Consequently, post-pandemic, the profile of the candidates is different: they are unemployed or without initial training. » To compensate for their lack of experience, the company, which foresees up to 350 recruitments per year until 2025 for its 45 sites around the world, set up in 2022 an unprecedented internal process.
Tutor and “job dating”
Over half a day, potential candidates are subjected to manual dexterity tests. Their interpersonal skills are also carefully studied, as is their ability to work in a team. If they are selected, they follow a six-month training course, in small groups of three, under the aegis of a tutor.
150 kilometers to the south-west, in Tarbes, the aircraft manufacturer Daher is looking for fitters, drapers and non-destructive testing technicians to produce its six-seater TBM aircraft. So, on March 9, in the morning, the company organized a “job dating” in its factory, with the key to 50 positions.
“We are the first private employer in the department, and it is not easy to find people in Tarbes. We are looking for all creative ideasrecognizes Jérôme Leparoux, secretary general of Daher, which recruits 170 people in 2023 for the Tarbais site. We say to ourselves that seeing the planes being built in our hangars and attending a test flight is a real motivating and differentiating factor. »
After the shock of the health crisis, which led to the loss of 6,000 jobs in the Occitanie region in 2020 and 2021, the sector is in full rebound. “To ensure the increase in production rates and prepare the aircraft of tomorrow, it is estimated that 3,000 positions are vacant today. And, in twelve to eighteen months, the sector will need 3,000 additional ”notes Bruno Bergoend, the president of the Union of industries and trades of the metallurgy of Occitanie.
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