Created in 1943 by the FNTP (French public works trade federation) Égletons, which is based in the Corrèze region, trains around 1,000 young people every year at its EATP school (basic training) and EFIATP school (basic work-study training), the two schools being complemented by the CFCTP for professional training courses.
The class of 2017, sponsored by Eiffage and made up of approximately 430 students, has been named the Pierre Berger Promotion in honour of Eiffage’s former Chairman and CEO. The graduation ceremony took place on 20 May and was attended by Benoît de Ruffray, Bruno Cavagné President of the FNTP, and Juliette Berger who is also sponsoring the class. Several Eiffage employees who formerly attended the school were also present, including Gérard Sénac, current Chairman of Eiffage Sénégal, and Jean-Michel Bordes, Director of equipment procurement.
Jean-Yves Guillard, President of the three schools at Égletons, dedicated his speech to Pierre Berger saying he was “a leading entrepreneur who left us in his prime and who was the driving force behind major projects such as the A86 motorway near Paris, the containment building at Chernobyl in the Ukraine, the Cairo metro system in Egypt, and who supervised major projects within Eiffage such as the Bretagne-Pays de la Loire high-speed rail link, the Cestas solar farm in the Gironde region, the extension of the Motorway of the Future in Senegal, as well as the Grand Hôtel Dieu in Lyon and in Marseille.”
“It was a beautiful ceremony,” welcomed Jean-Michel Bordes, Director of equipment procurement and a former student of the school. “There was a lot of emotion as we remembered Pierre Berger, particularly during the unveiling of a plaque dedicated to him, which is mounted on the wall of the new auditorium, and when as a tribute students from year 1 lined up to spell out his name in the middle of the stadium. The pride of students currently attending the school, as well as that of former pupils still active within Eiffage, was obvious. The award ceremony was an opportunity to celebrate the values taught at the Égletons schools and the level of excellence they strive for. Being well trained but modest, Égletons graduates are fully equipped to embark on a rich and varied career,” he concluded.
Gérard Sénac, himself a former student at Égletons, said that he was returning to the school “44 years on, with immense pleasure,” and rediscovering an establishment that had undergone considerable changes and which deserved to enjoy an even higher profile. Since in Africa, “the needs in terms of electricity, water, sanitation, roads and railways are considerable, training plant machinery operators, team leaders and site supervisors is very important.” In this respect, he would like to develop the training centre in Senegal, which is jointly managed by the Syndicat du BTP (public works trade union), by adding plant machinery operation training using simulation equipment similar to that installed at Égletons, and/or set up a partnership and exchange programme with the school.
Égletons, the European capital for public works trades training
As highlighted by Benoît de Ruffray, “Égletons is now the European capital for public works trades training and the most respected plant machinery operation training school in France. For Eiffage, Égletons represents one of the main schools producing new talent.”
Égletons is an American-style campus offering an 80-hectare platform and a modern fleet of equipment, including around 100 pieces of plant machinery as well as simulation and machinery operation stations. Half of the training is carried out in the field under real operating conditions, a model which is unique in France. The school cultivates strong links with the profession, and has also developed complementary training modules dedicated to the environment, team communication and authorisations for interventions around networks.
All the main earthworks companies are represented at Égletons including, first and foremost, Forézienne d’Entreprises and Fougerolle-Ballot Terrassements, subsidiaries of Eiffage’s Infrastructures division. Teams from Forézienne d'Entreprises, including the director Éric Maisonhaute, attended the ceremony. They play an important role in the school’s programme, providing training at the Égletons technology institute (IUT) for the earthworks option of the public works professional certificate since 1993. The current management team at Forézienne d’Entreprises includes former Égletons students who have successively taken on the roles of team leader, site supervisor and construction manager. Proof that the links between Égletons and Eiffage have been strengthened, is the training school set up by the Infrastructures division in October 2010 in partnership with Égletons CFCTP, resulting notably from the efforts of Jean-François Martel, Regional Director of Eiffage Route Sud-Ouest.
