The Bachelor of Technology program is celebrating its second anniversary at the Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers Lille, and the first class is already busy looking for work-study opportunities.
Bachelor speed-meeting to find a work-study program
The Bachelor of Technology is a three-year program, the first two years of which are completed as a dual degree with the BTS CPI at four partner high schools (Lycée Baggio - Lille, Lycée du Hainaut - Valenciennes, Lycée Gustave Eiffel - Armentières, Lycée André Malraux - Béthune) and ends with a year of work-study under a 6-week in-company, 5-week in-school program. It is time for the first class of Bachelor's students at the Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers Lille to find their work-study placements, which will begin in September 2018.
In order to facilitate their meeting with companies in need of employees with intermediate training, Dorine Van Der Waals, deputy head of corporate relations, has developed a tailor-made event: the Bachelor's Speed-Meeting. On Wednesday, March 21, Bachelor's students each met with seven companies (GMD, Dior Parfum, Gekatex, Gary, Aluminium France Extrusion, Standard Industrie, and KyPlast). For Dorine, "it's important to give our students a helping hand. Thanks to the Bachelor's Speed Meeting, they can benefit from the school's network, conduct interviews in a reassuring environment, and not miss any opportunities." This initiative is appreciated by Bachelor's students such as Quentin Calonne, who says, "We are well guided, and it's very well organized," a statement confirmed by Thibaut Lasson: "If we had to look for companies ourselves, it would take longer and be much less practical."
The advantages of a three-year degree in a work-study program
For Jonathan Avez, a Bachelor of Technology student who is currently resuming his studies, the work-study program is a real asset to his education. During the first two years of his dual degree program, he and his classmates spend one day a week at the Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers Lille. This is not enough for the student, who has experienced the workshops at the school where he is studying manufacturing. With a third year at the Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers Lille, he will benefit more from practical courses. The work-study program will allow him to experience real working conditions, working on short-term projects from start to finish, such as creating a product prototype. The bonus: "We'll be working in a field we enjoy," says Jonathan, echoed by Quentin: "Today, we want to work and invest ourselves in a company."
That's good news, because these companies are looking for young people with this kind of motivation. The representative from Gekatex said during the Bachelor's Speed Meeting, "We want to have skilled people in our companies. So it's only natural to help motivated students by training our future employees through work-study programs, especially since these are hard-to-find profiles." Maurice Lepoivre, a mechanical engineering teacher, confirmed, "It's becoming increasingly rare to find students who are knowledgeable and skilled in technology; they're not easy to find anymore."
Students enrolled in Bachelor of Technology programs are therefore a rare commodity, and it is important to nurture them from the outset of their work-study programs so that their skills can be put to good use once they enter the workforce.
