Workers needed in heavy industry in Ile-de-France

 

In the Ile-de-France region, the industrial sector faces difficulties in recruiting qualified employees. Recruitment is on a recessionary trend as prospects for retirement intensify year after year. Three areas, namely mechanical-metalworking, process industries and maintenance are directly concerned by this recruitment challenge.

 

To change this worrying situation, employers in the region are proposing to use three different resources to facilitate their recruitment: hiring trained young people, using assets in related fields or simply recruiting jobseekers.

 

Heavy industry in Île-de-France, a rich and diverse sector

Rich and diverse? Contrary to received opinion, heavy industry in the Ile-de-France region exactly fits these two descriptions. It is important that both employers and employees realise that they should not be constrained by outdated preconceptions and restrictive mindsets, for example people currently employed in maintenance jobs can also evolve in different fields such as construction, while the same is also true for workers currently employed in the metalworking trades that are present in small companies.

 

As for skilled workers, technicians and supervisors, their skillsets are ideally suited for positions in transport manufacturing plants.

 

 

Professional mobility of the workforce, a long term solution

 

Occupational mobility does not occur only in the primary or tertiary sectors, it is also flourishing in the industrial sector (28% occupational mobility of workers in industry compared to 19% for workers of all trades). The existence of the bridges between the trades facilitates the task of those involved in this quest for change.

 

For labourers and other unqualified or poorly qualified workers, occupational mobility is most generally in an upwards sense as they progress up the work ladder. On the other hand, professional mobility takes place horizontally for technicians and supervisors as the latter generally do so  for skill-seeking reasons in the majority of cases.

 

 

Job seekers, another potential source of recruits

Hiring job seekers to supplement the workforce is very common in the industrial sector provided they can be provided with the appropriate training. A study carried out at the end of December 2013 showed that the fields of mechanics-metalworking and maintenance are the most common employers of job seekers, with strong growth of 13% to 20% against 6% for the other associated sectors. Temporary employment agencies are the main source of job seekers employed in heavy industry, so for those people looking for jobs in the industry sector, making an appointment with a temporary employment agency should be the logical first step.