HAS Aire-sur-l’Adour, Potez Aéronautique is an institution. The company currently employs 700 people in Landes and 1,300 in total. The adventure began in 1913, when Marcel Dassault and Henry Potez created the lightning propeller, which would revolutionize the world of aviation at the beginning of the 20th century.e century. Today specializing in the design and manufacturing of aerostructures, the company is in constant need of qualified labor, although it is increasingly rare.
To meet this demand and compensate for this labor shortage, the company decided to set up a training center in Aire-sur-l'Adour, to supply the positions of machinist, boilermaker, controller and fitter-fitter, which issues a joint metallurgy qualification certificate (CQPM) after seventy-five days of training.
Potez works with nine temp agencies, which finance the training.
Philippe Salvat / SO
On Thursday, December 19, many of the partners and stakeholders in this project came to attend the inauguration of this center, which includes a 350 square meter workshop, three classrooms, two offices and a break room. Training is not new here, since it has existed since 1990. “Having a structure like that will allow us to train more people. Until now, we only supported ten people per year, directly on site until 2022. From now on, we can accommodate up to 48 people per session,” indicates Cyril Alvarez, training manager at Potez Aéronautique.
“I was a baker before”
Antoine Potez, the president of Potez Aéronautique, recalls that his group has three other training centers in France, in Bayonne, Bordeaux and Figeac. “We currently have 90 people training across all of our sites,” he says. We change people's lives, and we open them up to employment. »
Trainees are sent to Potez through nine temp agencies, which fully finance their training. Aurélien Darribeau is 39 years old. He began his apprenticeship to become a fitter. “I was a baker before and I want to retrain, because the pace of work was very complicated. There, I will have more ''normal'' hours, without having to work weekends. » It was the Arobase interim agency which directed him towards this sector. After his 75 days of training, he will be able to work for eight months as a temporary worker for the company, before being hired on a permanent contract, if all goes well. “The eight months of temporary work allow us to see if the person meets our expectations,” adds Cyril Alvarez.
Philippe Salvat / SO
Antoine Potez, director of the company.
“There is first of all a large theoretical part, over three weeks, before moving on to workshop training,” declares Laurent Teyssedre, one of the trainers. We currently have twelve quality controller trainees, who will validate their certificate by a defense in front of a jury. »
Gaston-Crampe high school also supplies Potez
Potez is part of the Local School and Business Committee (CLEE), which aims to increase the visibility of exchanges between schools and the economic world. “We introduce the company to the professional baccalaureate who are at Gaston-Crampe to prepare them for a career in aeronautics, or then directly hire certain students at the end of their BTS,” specifies the training manager. Aeronautics professions are the most under pressure on the French job market. A shortage of labor due in particular to a lack of attractiveness of the sector, perceived as “difficult”.
To inspire these young people, the company is setting up Erasmus internships at the Potez site in Seville, Spain. “They can discover what we also do internationally,” adds Cyril Alvarez.
