10,000 recruitments in 10 years

Two km from the Gravelines power plant (North), in this workshop, part of the future of French nuclear power is being played out. This subcontractor specializes in piping, a strategic activity that Bastien Van Der Linde discovers day after day. This former truck driver signed a professionalization contract to become a welder. But like all his other colleagues, he will have to accumulate years of experience in the workshop before working in the plant.

“It’s a special environment”, confirms Cédric Dumarquez, welder for Altrad Endel. A medium apart, and which recruits with a vengeance. Last year, the Head of State ordered six new-generation EPRs. Two in Gravelines, two in Penly (Seine-Maritime), two in Bugey (Ain) or Tricastin (Drôme), the place is not yet decided. That is for the entire park, 10,000 people per year to be recruited for 10 years. So the government launched scholarships.

“Specific skills and behavior”

In a high school in Seine-et-Marne, five students benefit from it and receive 600 euros per month. Selected on merit, scholarship holders are supervised and required to continue in the sector for several years. In total this year, 200 high school students benefit from this scholarship. Beyond the boost, moving towards nuclear requires skills and specific behavior.

“Social skills in the nuclear industry is something that is fundamental, because we work as a team, and we are all responsible for each other”, insists Stéphane Dervillez, professor of electrical engineering at the André Malraux high school, in Montereau-Fault-Yonne. Last year, the financing of training actions in the nuclear sector amounted to 60 million euros.