The arrival of young people on work/study programmes in a factory that had not hired any new workers for many years was set to shake up working habits. This was to be the first significant change indispensable to the firm's recovery. BPI was mobilised to help the company rise to the challenge.

Context
Re-establish the Balance in the Company
Within the framework of its redundancy programme, this industrial site signed an agreement with the French authorities that established the guidelines for progressive early retirement for 130 of its 600 employees. The agreement included provisions for 90 new hires, a third of which were to be young people on work/study programmes. For the first year, the management, with the support of BPI, set an objective of integrating 10 work/study trainees in a workshop of 100 employees. Based on this experience, the foundations of the integration process were established.

Task
Integrate to Dynamise
Once the recruitment criteria were defined, the managerial teams were asked to participate in reflection on the skills to be developed on the site. In view of the context, the young people integrating the company needed to be both autonomous and highly productive as well as possessing the required technical qualities. In partnership with the local BPI branch and the training organisation, the BPI consultants met each applicant and analysed their profiles according to the established criteria.

Dynamise to Build
During the welcome session, and after that for one or two days a month, the consultant responsible for co-ordinating the project encouraged group dynamics. The young people progressively took on board the objectives and constraints of a year that was to combine working in a company and training leading to a qualification. As a group, they learned to take a step back and examine team relationships which enabled them to develop the attitudes and relational skills needed for them to successfully integrate the work environment.
The tutors were implicated in the technical aspects of the project. They also met the consultant once a month to clarify what the role of tutor involved and to design follow-up tools. The young people were curious and implicated. The "oldies" were motivated to help them, and found that this task gave a new, valuable, dimension to their role within the company. A constructive team dynamic emerged.

Perspectives
Getting a Process Started
"Tutor and Trainee's ABC", technical follow-up booklet and contact booklet - as well as the tools, the collective capacity to learn on the job was reinforced. This is a key skill for developing recruitment, and also for internal mobility.
In the workshop, the integration of 10% of young people led to a veritable cultural change. This was the most promising aspect for the future as far as the project team were concerned. At the end of this first stage, the management, supported by BPI, opted for the professionalisation of the tutor function. The new integration arrangement set up valued the key actors as well as mobilising the teams. The site was then ready to welcome new arrivals.