“It was urgent to train them locally”: this former rugby player from Nice opens the first training center for rope access technicians in the Alpes-Maritimes

From the skyscrapers of Monaco under construction to the deep, devastated valleys of the high country, rope access technicians are essential to major construction sites in the Alpes-Maritimes. Their trade being classified by France Travail as a profession in shortage, these specialized workers are, after obtaining their diploma, guaranteed to land a job.

Despite these opportunities and the growing demand in the department, it was necessary to wait until September 2024 for a learning center to be deployed on the Côte d’Azur. “Before that, we had to wait for professionals to come from Marseille to give courses once a year. Suffice to say that it was urgent to train the rope access technicians locally”considers Antoine Derrstroff, 41 years old. Retrained as a rope access technician for more than ten years, the former Stade Niçois rugby player (read opposite)is at the origin of the first Côte d’Azur antenna of Dimension Corde ⁽¹⁾.

Too many inexperienced rope access technicians

Since it was established in a hangar in the industrial zone of Saint-Laurent-du-Var, the training center has seen around thirty trainees pass through. Crowd that the boss explains by the need to “professionalize the practice. Because in France it is possible to become a rope access technician in just six days via an international certificate ^[2]I have already found myself suspended next to kids, temporary workers, completely inexperienced, lacking autonomy.”

The veteran’s face darkens: “Last year alone, three rope access technicians died. Never was a material defect involved. Each time, it was human error that led to the worst.” His voice becomes duller: “Because there are a lot of construction sites, because the profession is experiencing significant turnover, and because we always have to move faster, some companies are not very careful about the abilities of those they employ.”

Five weeks of training

“Fortunately, there are more in-depth courses”replies Fred, suspended between two scaffoldings for the purposes of the demonstration. The 49-year-old trainer, introduced to the profession by mountaineers, passes the torch to four trainees, two of whom come from Corsica. “They are there for five weeks at the end of which they should obtain the Initial Professional Qualification Certificate [CQPI] ^[3]. This course allows you to tame vertigo and get used to the techniques to make good progress on ropes. And above all, there is an important safety component, coupled with teaching the basics of rescue”exposes the one who worked in particular on the reinforcement of a wall, in Vésubie, following the storm Alex.

A “physical, technical and useful” profession

The testimony makes Ken Dadoun, 20 years old, harnessed in his harness and well aware of the demands of the job, agree. He comes from Coaraze, a village in Paillons, where a road was swept away by a huge landslide in March 2024. Rope climbers had worked hard to clear the scree and consolidate the cliff. “It was seeing these guys that I wanted to do like them. I found it impressive. It’s physical, technical. We’re outside. And then, the aim is that it’s useful for people.” In his valley, in four and a half months, the spider men ⁽⁴⁾ had managed to secure the section of hill. The twenty-year-old smiles: “Without them, we would have remained isolated. Their intervention changed our lives.”

(1) For any information: dimension-corde.com or [email protected]

[2] Irata, English acronym for the Association of Industrial Access Trades Using Ropes, from which comes the name of a certificate obtainable after 42 hours of training.

[3] First training in a cycle of four certification levels, the CQPI costs around 2,800 euros, financed by France Travail, the Region, a company, etc.

(4) The profession is overwhelmingly male. The construction company Jarnias claims that only 2% of the 8,500 rope access technicians in France are women.