The group of eleven Ukrainian refugees on a professionalization contract to become metal carpenters surrounded by their trainers and those responsible for this integration project. JC / Le Figaro
REPORTING – A year after the start of the fighting in Ukraine, a group of eleven refugees has just started a professionalization contract to become metal carpenters. An integration project that offers them prospects and the hope of moving forward in a new country.
Le Figaro Nantes
A year ago, Ivan was studying cybersecurity on the benches of the Taras-Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, in the Ukrainian capital. Then the war broke out. Forced to return to his parents in Cherkassy, a town 200 kilometers further south, he could not stay there long. “They were already hosting my grandparents. There wasn’t enough room. It was too complicated”, sums up this big guy, a former high-level basketball player in his country. Last summer, he made the decision to join his girlfriend, a refugee in France. A few days later and after passing through Lithuania, he landed on the Loire-Atlantique coast, at La Turballe.
He was only 17 years old and had an iron will. His goal: find a job, integrate and move in with his girlfriend. “Via a discussion in a group of refugees on Telegram, I learned that a formation was going to open. As soon as I turned 18, I signed up.”, he explains. For about three weeks, every day of the week, he has been traveling to Saint-Nazaire. In this town located about thirty kilometers away, he joined the Fab’Academy, the training center of the Union of Industrialists and Metallurgy Trades (UIMM). Like ten other refugees – including two women – he is on a one-year professional training contract. Objective: to become a metal carpenter or an industrial assembler as required by the nomenclature inherent in the metallurgy sector.
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Tailor-made training
The training followed is far from the usual standards in this area. She is one of a kind. “It’s tailor-made. It includes time alternating with practice, but before that there are four months devoted to learning French., explains Margaux Brousse, the general manager of Inserim. It is this temporary integration employment company, based in Nantes, which is carrying out the project. It is also the employer of the Ukrainian refugees involved in the process. In addition to learning basic words, the pedagogical engineering put in place is also oriented around business vocabulary. “A Russian-speaking trainer teaches them the words that will be useful to them in the workplace. For this, he uses photos in particular. This can be linked to navigation (port, starboard), tools (torch) or even a very technical language (side). The goal is for them to be credible with industrial partners.says Christophe David, training advisor at the Fab’Acadmy.
We are not the same age, not the same background, but we all have the same desire to succeed
Ivan, “highly motivated” Ukrainian refugee
After three weeks of classes, Ivan is already able to express himself a little in French, even if he is more at ease in English. “It’s not simplehe acknowledges. But I am ready to work hard to get there and improve. Above all, I realize that the French language is interesting.” To make progress, he can rely on Aurélien, his teacher: “This group is proactive. After a week, they were already able to present themselves. There is a real solidarity between them.” A cohesion that warms Ivan’s heart in this troubled time. “We are not the same age, not the same background, but we all have the same desire to succeed”he says.
Comprehensive support…
In a second time, will come the learning of the gesture. It will be done with Chantiers de l’Atlantique or one of its subcontractors, namely Atlantique Tôlerie Soudure (ATS). “For the system to work, companies must be ready to integrate diversity into their team”, emphasizes Margaux Brousse. Industrial partners seem to have heard it. “We have decided to support these refugees by providing them with a translator who will be present in the workshop for at least two months”, explains Bérengère Person, head of recruitment and school relations at Chantiers de l’Atlantique. For the company, which hired “450 people on permanent contracts” last year, the solution provided by Inserim made it possible to complete its field of action and respond to “great needs” labor for certain trades. This is the case of metal carpenters.
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The other facet of the device is less visible. Yet it is just as crucial. “In parallel with the training, there is overall support. We help these refugees with their housing request, to obtain a microcredit if necessary. We also have a partnership with a garage to facilitate their mobility», takes Margaux Brousse as an example. Another specificity: throughout their training, students are paid. “Their remuneration is slightly higher than the minimum wage. It is much more than the financial assistance provided by the authorities.she adds.
… for long-term integration
This set meets a specific objective: “aim for a “sustainable integration” Ukrainian refugees despite a “high risk of dropping out” because of the language barrier but also the “downgrading” felt by some since the outbreak of hostilities by Russia. Margaux Brousse cites the case of Igor, a former company manager in steel – in eastern Ukraine – recruited on a professional training contract to become a fitter mechanic. He is part of another group of twelve refugees in the process of converting for six months, still under the leadership of Inserim, with General Electric. All participate in the manufacture of wind turbines which will then be placed at sea for various European projects.
If there is no obligation to stay in France after the training, there is a moral commitment
Margaux Brousse, Director General of Inserim
“If there is no obligation to stay in France after the training, there is a moral commitment. The goal is that the participants can project themselves sustainably., mentions Margaux Brousse. For now, none of the 33 Ukrainian refugees invested in General Electric or Chantiers de l’Atlantique and ATS has dropped out. A good indicator according to the general manager of Inserim. Ivan, he projects himself a little in France: “I want to stay here for now. It is a country in which there are many opportunities. When the war stops, maybe I’ll go back.” In the meantime, he will continue to write messages every day to his parents back home. The opportunity for him to explain to them his new life in the world of metallurgy.
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