Eiffage Foundation: preventing addiction among young people working on Group construction sites in Normandy

Eiffage Foundation: preventing addiction among young people working on Group construction sites in Normandy

Eiffage Group

- 24 January 2018 - 09:57

From 2014 to 2016, an experimental addiction prevention scheme aimed at young people working on Eiffage building sites was set up in partnership with the Building and Public Works Foundation (Fondation du BTP) in the Auvergne-Rhône Alpes region. In 2018, the initiative is being launched in Normandy, with Occupational Safety and Health experts from the Infrastructures, Construction and Energy divisions.

Since 2011, the Building and Public Works Foundation has been working to combat addiction among young people, with the help of a serious game (an educational video game) and a web series made up of 11 videos that use humour to deal with subjects such as loss of control due to alcohol or drugs and managing social media profiles. Each video comes with advice from experts. Both tools have been available to CFA apprentice training centres.

In 2014, a partnership was created with the Eiffage Foundation to roll out this initiative to companies. A pilot scheme carried out between 2014 and 2016 in the Auvergne-Rhône Alpes region and aimed at young people on work-study contracts working on Eiffage building sites (aged 18 to 22), enabled the approach to be tested and its format optimised. Twenty Occupational Safety and Health experts from all of the Group’s business divisions received training and got involved to run workshops for groups of 6 to 12 participants. The result was increased awareness among 100 young employees and young people on work-study contracts. The two modules, each lasting 3 hours, include events, role-play and videos and encourage the groups to think about these issues.
Support from the Eiffage Foundation has also helped to produce two more videos focusing on workplace scenarios (driving heavy machinery and working at height).

In 2018, the initiative is being rolled out in Normandy in the three business divisions (Infrastructures, Construction and Energy) with the support of Jean Vintaer, regional delegate. Occupational Safety and Health experts from the three divisions will be delivering the addiction prevention modules to young workers (from left in the picture: Emmanuel James and Jose de Freitas from Eiffage Construction, Jean Guillaume Varois from Eiffage Energie Systèmes, Eric Quessandier and Sébastien Payet from the Infrastructures division; the sixth person is an external expert on addiction). An assessment will be carried out in May 2018, with a view to possible deployment throughout France in the final quarter of 2018.