The leader of nuclear power is therefore on all fronts

Twenty-five years, Marie Robert young woman engineer determined looking after the sector of vocational education, is responsible for the span heavy mill of Saint-Marcel (Saône-et-Loire) of Areva. Its environment: a 600 ton lifting bridge, of gigantic high metal vats of 25 metres process, lids of nuclear reactor, 6 metres in diameter. Resources: four teams of 16 people, including 95 of men (see below). His case is emblematic of the will of Areva to the advancement of women a priority of its management of human resources in an industry to 85 male, despite the presence of a woman, Anne Lauvergeon, head. But it is also the interest of the company, which must ensure the succession in a context of strong competition on the labour market.

Five years after the consolidation of all the nuclear activities civil French, under the leadership of Anne Lauvergeon, Chairman of Areva since 2001, and two years after the acquisition of the transmission and distribution of electricity to Alstom, the champion of the French nuclear has the wind in its sails. While the sector was still in decline in 2001, the voluntarism of the Chairperson of the Group allowed the restart of the activity. On production sites, some are still the "mic" or the "Fra", Cogema abbreviations (activities of extraction, conversion and processing of uranium, or all of the nuclear fuel cycle in Areva NC) and Framatome, now Areva NP, whose activity focuses on the design and manufacture of reactors, their maintenance, and any engineering of naval nuclear propulsion. "Fusion is a great word to the level of the staff of the sites." "The social is still under construction," temper Jean-François Martinez, CFDT Coordinator in the Committee of European Group. But, in true captain of industry, Anne Lauvergeon still managed his bet, helped by the recent situation, to make the former "enemy brothers" nuclear a set turned to a more promising future. The consecration of this unit and its realization are underway, at the end of the year, with the move of all the teams "corporate", "fuels" and "reactors" poles, or 850 people until then distributed on three sites, in a magnificent flagship, in the heart of Paris, rue Lafayette (see box).

Ten commitments and 100 criteria

To get this far, Areva is inspired by proven management and communication methods. The "Areva Way" (oddly reminiscent "danone way") is one of the tools implemented headlights in front by the Directorate for uniting the French employed 30,000 and 59.000 collaborators in the world. "Ten commitments and 100 criteria, we organized a model of management common to all of the entities of the group", said Frédéric Thoral, Director of managerial development. This method of management is based on a single repository for each unit of self-evaluation of its performance under the ten commitments. For example: grant an annual maintenance to all collaborators and step only to managers, propose to all training. "This method considerably facilitated the integration of the pole transmission and electricity distribution in the group after its acquisition from Alstom in 2003", punctuates the HR Manager.

In addition to the requirement of unity, Areva attempts, since its creation, to become attractive for all of the engineering sector. There were emergency. Engineers, senior technicians and workers skilled, the needs are great and severe competition, because, after a crossing of the desert for a dozen years, nuclear power, producer of energy without CO2, is in force. Orders for steam generators tributary despite the Chinese disappointment (see "Les Echos" of yesterday) and the annual staff needs are estimated around the world, to 6,000 people in 2006 and 2007, and "probably 7,000 to 8,000 years", said Philippe Vivien, Director of human resources the group. 2,000 engineers (engineers, physicists, chemists) should be recruited next year, including 40 of young graduates.

The major challenges of tomorrow

Activities resumed in effect adds a pyramid where 58 of the workforce were between 40 and 55 years, 10 over 55 years. Result: "40 of staff Cogema part to retire in ten years", admits the HRD. "It must be remembered that after 1985 he longer was hiring and that it has lost much of skills with departure in early retirement plans," said Alain Roumier, delegate CGT in Areva. A phenomenon not only French as Areva US punctually recalled young retirees mission to ensure the transmission of knowledge to the next generation. "An inconceivable operation in France", considers the CGT representative.

Today, with 50 of thousands of resumes received in the past eighteen months, applications abound. But it is the result of an ambitious political communication. First, awareness of the group. Rate reputation of Areva in the opinion from 21 in September 2002 to 40 today with the sponsorship of a boat in the 2003 America Cup and 2007 contributed to this improvement (see opposite). According to the annual survey of the Swedish firm Universum to 7,000 students engineers in 10,000 schools, Areva, which was not in the classification of the 130 large groups selected by students in 2004, is in 2006 in 6th place in the engineers. "We can offer to young engineers both registered employer Areva, world famous, an industry for the future and the opportunity to play a role in issues of the future such as access to energy and the fight against climate change", welcomed Frédéric Thoral.

Attractive career projects

But HR team knows that today ' hui that does more to attract talent. "The new generation is more also involved in the business." "The balance between working life and private life becomes a priority requirement," said Mariano Gilardon, Director energy firm Booz Allen Hamilton, which is that "the recruitment market is now international and that the young French engineers are in demand." They are also attracted to areas without risk, physical restraint and the heavy responsibilities of Heads of workshop or site engineers. "In the recruiting forum, my direct competitors are the banks," said Philippe Vivien. Internally, the company strives to foster the mobility to offer attractive career opportunities to its employees. Some 400 jobs are thus open permanently on the Group intranet.

The leader of nuclear power is therefore on all fronts. And provides the means. At the foot of Christmas of the new La Fayette building, branch filed 20 crèche places for the very young offspring of the "strong in theme" including Areva's pith marrow.