Offering young people aged 15-18 the opportunity to acquire professional know-how by honoring actual customer orders is standard practice at the Écoles de Production. Students require no previous educational qualifications, and can study qualifying courses for job sectors where demand is high, based on a “learning by doing” approach. A solution that benefits the students, regions and companies.

As part of its commitment to supporting young people’s education and inclusion, TotalEnergies Foundation wanted to contribute to the development of the Écoles de Production network. The ambition of the French National Federation of Écoles de Production (FNEP) is to quadruple the number of schools in 10 years, to reach 100 in 2028, with the aim of receiving at least 4,000 young people in the 13 regions of France.

That target is well on the way to being met, since 62 schools are now open, with 1,450 young people in training. Five new schools are set to open before the end of 2023, and around a dozen projects are already under way for 2024. Since the beginning of the partnership with the FNEP in 2018, TotalEnergies Foundation has provided direct support to the creation of 33 schools and the extension of a further 10.

That support was of great benefit to the Gorge de Loup school in particular, where a  1,100 m² workshop was renovated and extended, to receive the 40 young people studying mechanical and production engineering. Today, around 110 partner companies sub-contract their production to the school. During his visit, Patrick Pouyanné was able to talk to the students and professional instructors to gauge for himself the impact and effectiveness of the innovative educational approach, since almost all the young people who studied at an École de Production either continue their studies or find employment.