A gold medal at the 2024 regional competition for best apprentice in industrial maintenance
Following the recent regional competition for France’s Best Apprentice in Industrial Equipment Maintenance, we asked few questions to Jules Leboeuf, apprentice, and one of his tutors, Jean-Charles Meriau, Mechanical Maintenance Manager within the Defontaine group. Jules received a medal for the 2024 Pays de la Loire regional competition, making his tutors and the entire company proud. Defontaine SAS congratulates him for his rigour and motivation. The company wishes him luck for the forthcoming national competition.
Can you introduce yourself? What is your journey?
J L: “My name is Jules Leboeuf, I live in La Bruffière and I am in Year 12 at the UIMM (Union of Metallurgy Industries and Trades) of the Fab’ Academy in La Roche sur Yon. It is my second year of vocational baccalauréat in Maintenance of Connected Production Systems, and I am an apprentice within Defontaine SAS. I chose this academic path because I was very curious from very early on and I loved discovering new things as a child. Thanks to my friends and family, and to internships I made, I discovered this occupation that I particularly enjoyed.”
In brief, what is a vocational baccalauréat in Industrial Equipment Maintenance?
J L: “The vocational baccalauréat in Industrial Equipment Maintenance is a three-year course in which students are in apprenticeship in a company to discover and practise the job directly. The apprenticeship enables us to learn the techniques we need to know and master in order to carry out checks defined by procedure, as well as repairing, intervening and fixing industrial production machines. In maintenance, two sectors can be distinguished: the mechanical sector and the electrical one. Therefore, we are learning how to improve equipment on various types of machines, such as machine tools or special machines.
What I like about this apprenticeship is the variety of machines, the diverse activities that I can make and the fact that I can repair faulty machines. I do prefer the mechanical sector because I like to disassemble and reassemble equipment to keep them in good conditions.”
Why choosing the Defontaine group to do your apprenticeship?
J L: “I am from La Bruffière so nearby but it is mainly thanks to members of my family who worked within the Defontaine group that I discovered this business sector. Moreover, the multi-technology aspect of the area is a real asset. Indeed, the area has a very large diversity of machines, sometimes even complex ones, on which a lot remains to learn. I benefit from the support of two tutors, one for the mechanical sector and the other for the electrical sector. Thus, I am enjoying a complete training course with two specialists in those fields. The company is a very good school for an apprenticeship in maintenance. I can easily see myself continuing my career in the company, and even working there later on.”
You won a gold medal in the 2024 regional competition for France’s Best Apprentice in Industrial Equipment Maintenance. How did the selection process work? Can you explain the medal award system?
J L: “My school offered us the competition. I thought it would be a great experience. Thus, I have registered for the Pays de la Loire regional competition. I won a gold medal in this competition with five other people in the region on sixteen participants who attended. The competition took place over the course of a day and focused on the Maintenance of Industrial Equipment (my area of apprenticeship). During the day, we had 3 different tests: a manufacturing one in which we had to manufacture a part according to a given plan, a diagnostic test in which we had to recognise an anomaly on the machine and work on it to fix it, and finally, a mechanical test in which we had to disassemble and reassemble an equipment. The gold medal corresponds to a test mark of more than 16/20. It is then possible to continue the competition at national level. At the moment, I don’t have any information about the national competition but I would really like to be part of it.”
What would you like to do after your vocational baccalauréat? Would you like to go further in your studies or work directly?
J L: “After my vocational baccalauréat in maintenance, I would like to do an advanced technician’s certificate (BTS) and maybe a degree.”
Jean-Charles Meriau is one of Jules’s tutors and works as Mechanical Maintenance Manager within the Defontaine group.
What are your advices for a successful apprenticeship?
J-Ch M: “According to me, a successful apprenticeship starts with working well at school: having a great academic level is significant to better understand and apply theoretical knowledge to practical business situations. Furthermore, in a company, I think it is important to have enough maturity to be able to work with more experienced and older people. This maturity enables the apprentice to learn listening skills and respect the instructions given to achieve quality teamwork.”
What are Jules’ strengths? Why do you think he won this medal?
J-Ch M: “Jules is a talented apprentice that benefits from a very developed technical knowledge. This knowledge enabled him to win this gold medal, which was not easy. His listening skills and maturity also enabled him to put his academic background to good use in his apprenticeship to win this gold medal.”
Do you think taking on apprenticeship benefits the company and the young people?
J-Ch M: “Taking apprentices is highly beneficial for the youth as well as for the Defontaine group. The young people are directly immersed in the world of work and do not have to discover it after their studies. For the company, apprentices bring youth and freshness and enable employees, who are not necessarily destined for training, to develop a certain pedagogy.”
What message would you give to all the youth who want to start an apprenticeship, whatever the field?
J-Ch M: “Apprenticeship at any level (vocational baccalauréat, advanced technician’s certificate (BTS), engineer) is a great way to learn and train. It is in the interests of young people and companies alike.”
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To discover in video what means apprenticeship within the Defontaine group: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lABx8iVQIN4&list=PLfBLMW9HR0pAHWMV2jKRt5caR6PuPKQYI
21 June 2024