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L'Usine Nouvelle |
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This is a translation of a few paragraphs of the article.
Four months before their graduation in engineering, Isabelle, Patrice, Martine, Yves, Eric and Jean-Paul do the check-up. Since the first day they set foot at the CNAM, six to nine years have passed.
At the CNAM, matters are organized by cycle. Cycle B grants the Diploma of Superior Technical Studies. Cycle C leads to the Degree in Engineering. Years of night classes, exercises and homework. Worries Isabelle Condert, Superior Technician in pharmaceutics, "Will my company acknowledge my new diploma at its actual worth?". A question everybody asks himself. For none of these young technicians (aged 25 to 31) has the feeling that his employer really supports him in his continuing education.
As a matter of fact, most of the students think they will change company once they graduate. Explains one of them, "We all have a history of technician in our company. We shall have to start over again somewhere else". When they negotiate with their employer, these freshly graduated engineers will try to transmit this message: not only do they have a good level of knowledge, but also a perseverance which is outstanding.
They are few. 1,000 out of the 14,000 engineers who graduate each year. But the figure can only increase. Thanks to the new ways of becoming an engineer through continuing education, superior technicians will be able to follow paths that are worthy of their ambition. Enough to meet the needs of companies lacking engineers.
Still, the French companies encourage every incentive which could contribute to internal promotion, for the 900,000 technicians suffer from a lack of professional perspective.
Their technical proficiency being acknowledged, they obviously represent the French industry's missing link of operational engineers.
Technicians wanting to reach the level of engineer must associate tenacity and motivation, qualities that employers do recognize.
The path leading from technician to engineer is no easy road. A real fighter training... many evenings and weekend mornings sacrificed to homework and study. All this is to be carried out while doing his job. The applicant's motivation must be sound.
First condition: keep pace. The quality of CNAM engineers is to be evaluated by their robustness.
As a matter of fact, every teacher acknowledges the difficulty of this kind of education. States Jacques Bahri, Manager of CESI, "It is a highly selective way of becoming an engineer, almost too difficult".
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References/Articles: L'Usine Nouvelle (French original)
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La Lettre de l'Indépendant (French original)
| La Lettre de l'Indépendant (English translation)
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