Employés VINCI Autoroute

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The Ecole des Métiers de l'Autoroute: ensuring everyone’s safety on the road

#motorways
#training
#infrastructure

Created by VINCI Autoroutes in April 2022, the École des Métiers de l'Autoroute (EMA) at Brive-la-Gaillarde (Corrèze) has already taken on more than a hundred motorway workers and operational maintenance technicians - the 'men and women in yellow'. The aim? Training motorway workers in operational excellence and safety. Joint interview with David Renauld, EMA trainer, and Laurent Nègre, a motorway worker on a one-year professional training contract with VINCI and a student at the school.

What is the point of a school like the EMA?

David Renauld. The road transport industry is one in which we are at the service of road users and their safety. This notion of safety is central. The EMA is also opening up its training to people other than the 'men and women in yellow' of the motorway network. Anyone who has to work on the road, including firefighters and customs and police officers, can take the course. We are in the process of organising a partnership with a breakdown company located near the EMA for a tailor-made safety course.

Laurent Nègre. At EMA, I discovered a profession that is useful to everyone, where each day is different from the previous one. Since my training, I've been able to identify road hazards very quickly, including drivers who haven't seen me. This training is essential for all road professions, to ensure that users and professionals feel safe.

We have a stretch of unused proper motorway where we can take our time and make our first markings.

Laurent Nègre, motorway worker

What made you decide to attend the EMA?

D.R. I joined VINCI Autoroutes in 2003 as a motorway worker. As I am also a volunteer firefighter, in 2006 I was offered the chance to become a workplace first-aid trainer. That's how I got my foot into the world of training, and I haven't stopped since. I was able to become a tutor at my operations centre and then a fire and first-aid trainer. In 2015, I expressed the wish to take on this role on a full-time basis. I thus worked in VINCI Autoroutes' Regional Equipment Division and, in 2022, I helped train the first class of the EMA. I'm now a full-time trainer. 

L.N. After working as an equipment driver in the building and public works sector, I decided to change my career path for one that was more in line with my values. I'm a volunteer firefighter, so I'm used to dealing with emergencies and I know the importance of safety. I decided to apply to VINCI Autoroutes. After two interviews, the Langon teams offered me a professional training contract with the prospect of a permanent contract. I then immediately joined the EMA to be trained and begin my adventure on the motorways. 

Employés VINCI Autoroute
mécanicien VINCI Autoroute
Autoroute en construction

Can you tell us about the learning path at the École des Métiers de l'Autoroute?

D.R. Our training is aimed at people who are new to our business and who often have just joined VINCI Autoroutes. Our objectives are operational excellence and the safety of everyone involved in the work. We therefore offer more than 190 hours of training, organised in three sessions. The first session focuses on worksite and emergency marking, with more than sixty different types of markings to be mastered perfectly. The second is dedicated to plants and equipment maintenance. This is an important part of the business because VINCI Autoroutes is responsible for the green spaces that line the network. Finally, the last session is devoted to winter maintenance, including snow clearance and road sanding. We have also developed an advanced training course for more specific markings for already experienced professionals.

L.N. The teaching is intensive, varied and above all practical! Firstly, because at the EMA we benefit from the experience of trainers who know the field inside out. But also because we have tools at our disposal such as an unused stretch of proper motorway where we can take the time to make our first markings. We are then put through our paces on busy motorways. We observe, practise and help each other and even if we are stressed at first, we end up feeling a lot more at ease. Between sessions at the EMA, we go back out into the field to the operations centres where, with the help of our tutors, we put into practice what we have learnt. At the end of the course, we receive the "Route Intervention Certification", which validates our knowledge of road marking and allows us to work fully independently.

Each year we welcome people with completely different backgrounds and career paths, but who share the same desire to learn, work as part of a team and do something useful.

David Renauld, formateur à l'École des métiers de l'autoroute

David Renauld, trainer at the École des Métiers de l'Autoroute

What have you learnt from this experience?

D.R. As a trainer, it's exciting to be involved in the EMA project. Each year we welcome people with completely different backgrounds and career paths, but who share the same desire to learn, work as part of a team and do something useful. And it's always extremely gratifying to find out how the students rate at the end of their course. It makes me want to continue sharing and training!

L.N. I still have fond memories of it! I enjoyed the group spirit and the good atmosphere. Thanks to the sandwich course between the EMA and the centre, I feel confident - and I'm proud to be able to work independently!

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