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At the Jeunes d’Avenir Fair held at the exhibition center in Porte de la Villette in Paris, young people aged 16 to 30 had the opportunity to meet recruiting companies.
Matthieu Mazzega is the Human Resources Manager at a subsidiary of the EDF group, offering advice to those looking to apply to this company.
The "Jeunes d'Avenirs " fair took place on April 24 and 25 at Porte de la Villette in Paris.
Frequently asked questions Juliette Boulegon
impact.info journalist
Published on 17 May 2024
Transcript Audio in Français — text automatically translated· AI-generated transcript
0:00 Hello, this is Juliette and welcome to the Salon Jeunes d'Avenir at Porte de la Villette in Paris. 0:04 An event aimed at young people aged 16 to 30 looking for training, a job, or simply advice. 0:11 Mathieu Mazzega is the HR manager at a subsidiary of the EDF group 0:16 and has some tips for those looking for an apprenticeship within his group. 0:20 Mathieu Mazzega, I am the HR manager at a subsidiary of the EDF group 0:26 which manages all the lighting in Paris. 0:30 I am now 30 years old and my background is a bit atypical because I have done three bachelor's degrees and three master's degrees, 0:35 some of which were in apprenticeship, I studied law, history, geopolitics, and human resources, 0:41 which led me to my current position. 0:43 And so today, you are at the Salon Jeunes d'Avenir and you are looking for apprentices at EDF? 0:48 Absolutely, for the EDF group, we recruit many apprentices, 0:52 we have a lot of needs in operational departments, technical departments, and support functions. 0:59 And can you maybe name five advantages of being an apprentice with you 1:03 for all the future apprentices who would like to apply? 1:06 Yes, I can try to find five for you. 1:09 Or three. 1:10 There are actually many advantages because the EDF group is a very, very large family 1:15 and there are several subsidiaries, so I would say that teamwork is already one point, 1:21 I would say the first point is that this apprenticeship will teach you teamwork, 1:25 you won't get bored while of course respecting the rules in the company, 1:30 you will learn about safety, kindness, 1:33 because in the apprenticeship, we, the EDF group, are keen to train young people, 1:37 so you will really have an environment that is extremely conducive to training 1:43 so that you can have both your class periods and your company periods, 1:47 you will learn a lot. 1:50 The other advantages, I would say we have at least in human resources 1:54 and then it's the management's desire to have people who are very attentive, 1:57 it's very kind, so you will truly learn about the world of the company 2:01 and with a lot of kindness. 2:04 Kindness, that's the word, I feel. 2:06 It's an important word, indeed. 2:09 And so, what will they fundamentally learn with you 2:12 knowing that the apprenticeship is still a somewhat special status 2:15 given that we have one foot still in school, but also in the world of the company, 2:19 so you need to know how to balance these two worlds a bit. 2:22 What will they take away once they finish their apprenticeship? 2:26 First of all, the apprenticeship is essential for the experience it brings. 2:32 The person who is in an apprenticeship is an employee. 2:35 They are an employee of the company, the company pays for their training. 2:38 So of course there is this duality, the world of classes and the world of the company, 2:44 But what is he going to learn? 2:46 He is going to learn to work in a company, the world of business, 2:51 teamwork, and also working independently, 2:54 because sometimes you can be behind your screen dealing with topics alone, 2:58 but always have someone who will answer our questions. 3:02 That's also part of the training, having a tutor 3:05 who can answer all our questions. 3:07 That's also one of the goals within the EDF group. 3:11 For the operational part, we have a lot of technicians, 3:14 maintenance technicians, electricians. 3:16 We are going to train them, we are going to qualify them. 3:19 What do they want to do next? 3:21 What skills are you looking for in your future apprentices, 3:25 both from a technical standpoint and the skills of an average employee, 3:33 but also from a personality standpoint, what are you looking for? 3:37 As an HR manager, when I conduct interviews for apprentices, 3:42 I don't rely on experience, 3:44 because you can't hire an apprentice based on their experience or education. 3:48 The most important thing is, 3:50 when applying as an apprentice, it's motivation. 3:53 It's about showing how motivated you are for this position. 3:56 Someone who is a bit more laid-back, who keeps their head down, no. 3:59 If you're looking for an apprenticeship, you need to go in with your head held high. 4:01 You're entering the professional world, 4:04 it will be about curiosity, motivation. 4:07 These are two essential qualities. 4:10 When you go to an interview, 4:11 you need to have done some research about the company. 4:15 What does it do? What can it offer me? 4:17 And come prepared with questions. 4:19 Great. So our slogan at Impact.info is 4:22 a bit about interviewing people, entrepreneurs, 4:25 directors of associations who are making a difference. 4:27 And so today, since it's about apprenticeships in English, 4:30 I'm going to ask you, in your opinion, 4:32 how can apprenticeships make a difference? 4:34 Generally, an apprenticeship is someone younger, 4:39 who arrives, who is more of a novice and who will be trained, 4:42 who is eager to be trained. 4:43 But for managers on a daily basis, for the company itself, 4:47 It's, forgive me the expression, it's fresh blood. 4:50 And precisely, the fact that a new generation is coming in, 4:53 they have things to teach us at times 4:56 that are extremely interesting to note. 4:58 Not least because the world of work is evolving, 5:01 the rules are changing and the young people entering the workforce 5:05 have desires and needs that are different from the previous generation, 5:08 even from those who were in work-study a few years ago. 5:13 So, they will bring all this freshness, all this innovation, 5:18 all these new ideas that will be extremely interesting for the company 5:21 if the company has the open-mindedness to listen to them and learn from them. 5:28 So yes, we, the company will bring a lot to the young people 5:31 in terms of experience, in terms of learning, 5:33 but the young person can contribute a lot as well. 5:35 And it is in this sense that we can shift the lines 5:37 because if the company does not remain rigid 5:41 and accepts to be flexible according to this alternating population 5:45 which, when there are large promotions of work-study students, 5:47 brings a lot of new ideas, 5:50 well, in that case, we can move in a direction 5:52 where we head towards the future, towards innovation and progress. 5:57 And then, 16 years old is the legal age to start a work-study program, if one wishes to. 6:02 Did you know what you dreamed of when you were 16 years old 6:05 and especially, did you think you would do a work-study program 6:08 given that you did one? 6:10 Well no, I admit that at 16, 6:13 I wasn't really thinking about work-study programs. 6:14 I had embarked on a more general training. 6:18 Then I studied law. 6:20 So no, I wasn't thinking about work-study programs. 6:22 And yet, I'm very happy to have done one. 6:24 I think for people... 6:25 And today, I recruit CAP, BAC Pro, BTS, 6:28 so people who are minors. 6:29 I recruit people who are 16 years old. 6:32 So yes, I find it extremely good to be able to do these diploma programs 6:36 that provide this experience in the company. 6:38 And today, I am very satisfied with the populations I have recruited 6:41 who are 16, 17 years old and who have this motivation to work 6:44 and who have said to themselves in an extremely mature way, 6:47 I don't want to continue in a technical field or a general field. 6:51 I want to work in a hands-on job, 6:54 in electricity, in woodworking, or something else. 6:57 And I want, in addition to studying, to do an apprenticeship. 7:02 So, I'm very happy that we can now do apprenticeships in France 7:05 starting at 16 years old, 7:08 because it brings all this experience 7:10 right from the start, alongside classes. 7:12 And it was Matthieu Mazzega, HR manager at a subsidiary of the EDF group, 7:16 who was present at the Jeunes d'Avenir fair at Porte de la Villette in Paris, 7:20 which took place on April 24th and 25th. 
