Nowadays, it is typical to see job insertion in the framework of large-scale construction sites. However, it mainly involves people who are finishing up their job integration process and are ready to start working. Working proactively to provide a place for young people who have dropped out of school and are disconnected with society, as was done at the Calais port extension construction site, is no easy task. How did this project come about ?

Since April 2018, we have been working with the Calais Régie de Quartier (a neighbourhood development group) to employ young people and adults to clean the areas around the construction site. When the director of the Régie took the reins of SAS Coluche, he naturally turned towards us to suggest a more advanced partnership on job insertion that goes well beyond the normal scope of these partnerships. Set up by the Calais mayor’s office in the framework of the city’s policy, SAS Coluche is an association that aims to identify young people who have dropped out of school so that they can be brought into the workforce. We immediately signed on for the project because it matches Bouygues Construction’s desire to support local communities and because of personal conviction. The idea is ambitious because it involves working with young people who are disconnected from society and not currently on a path to obtaining a job. We found ourselves working with a dozen or so young people, ranging from 19 to 26 years old, who had different, complex profiles and backgrounds. Our goal in the context of this project was to build up their self-confidence, restore their image, and act as a trampoline to launch them back among society and their peers.

How did you get them involved and how did you create ties with these young people ?

During our meeting in late April 2018 with SAS Coluche and the dozen young people identified by the association, we suggested that they assist us in preparing for the Open House Day for the construction site that we organise every year. It was a matter of entrusting the young people with the job of preparing a poster to promote the Open House in July 2018 for the people of Calais–with the possibility that their work could be displayed throughout the city (in the mayor’s office, local businesses, and more)! The beginning was sometimes difficult since some of them had troubles concentrating and because we found that confronting their problems touched us personally. After familiarising them with the construction site, we got to know each other through our weekly meetings. The young people alternated between individual and group work to produce the poster and print 1,500 copies of it.

Mission accomplished! What feedback was given?

This process, which have the young people a sense of purpose and pride, was a true success. In fact, it was so successful that no one wanted to stop our progress down that path. The metamorphosis of these young people was striking (in terms of their attitudes, but also in come instances on a physical level). It encouraged efforts to extend the initiative by giving them a role to play on the Open House Day itself. They handed out PPEs and questionnaires to visitors and led a selfie session on the seaside promontory as well as a session for dedicating the construction site’s xbloc (concrete constructions to protect the seawall). Seeing them address the people of Calais and creating ties with the community was one of the highlights of the process. At this event, a businesses and neighbourhood charter was signed by the sub-prefect, the mayor of Calais, and the site foreman in order to validate this local process.

After these highlights, you expressed the desire to continue working with these young people and SAS Coluche. What comes next?

At the end of the summer, we brought together SAS Coluche and the young people to thank them and hear about their expectations. Together, we came up with the idea of having these young people be ambassadors for the construction site in the city and in their neighbourhoods. Specifically, they could create and share a newsletter presenting site news and the various jobs at the construction site. These include an earthworks manager, an environmental manager, a civil engineering works engineer, and more. Each young person worked alongside an employee fully immersed in the construction site to properly understand the missions and daily role of each profession. Two issues have already been released and the following ones are being written. In March 2019, the young people presented the process that was started a year before during the inauguration of the new SAS Coluche facilities. We have good prospects for this year, too. In addition to organising the 2019 open house, there is a brainstorming project on societal subjects that affect the company including: diversity, gender equality, food, and more!