2023-09-14 06:18:03
“As incredible as it may seem, in France there is no specific training for photovoltaic panel installers, nor a professional title. We only have electricians, roofers or plumbers who learn on the job»regrets Jérôme Mouterde.
Faced with this, the president and co-founder of DualSun, a company renowned for its hybrid solar panels, which produce both electricity on their front side and domestic hot water thanks to a heat exchanger placed on the rear side , decided to fend for himself. He is launching his own school, the DualSun Académie, on Thursday September 14 in Marseille. The company was already working with an integration association, BAO, but today wants “go faster and harder”he assures.
At cruising speed, it should train around 200 young people per year in the basics of the profession. They will have between two to three weeks of learning. It may seem short, but it is enough, according to Jérôme Mouterde, “to learn the main actions and not get lost on a construction site if you already have a little experience in the building trades». They should find work quickly, as demand is strong.
Jobs under pressure
Because the entire renewable energy sector is short of workers. According to recruitment firm Brawo, there were 99,000 vacancies in renewable energy professions in the second quarter, of which 45,000 were still available as of June 30.
The solar sector alone offered 18,000 positions, including 1,850 just for installing panels. This is the profession most in tension, with needs growing by more than 60% over one year.
«There are 10,000 installers in France, but at least 8,000 are missing to meet demand and prevent customers from waiting six to nine months before equipment is installed on their roof.», says Jérôme Mouterde, who has his research center in Marseille and an assembly plant in Ain. The company’s turnover reached 20 million euros in 2021, 40 million in 2022 and around 60 million this year, according to its latest forecasts.
A mobile truck will travel across France
For the boss of DualSun, the lack of competent labor is clearly an obstacle to the development of photovoltaics among individuals. In the past, many have been burned by work involving numerous defects. “The sector has since cleaned up, but some bad images persist”he believes.
DualSun, which has acquired the status of a mission-driven company, has set up a network of some 500 approved installers and intends to involve them in its academy. The company should put them directly in touch with the trainees, even if it means that the craftsmen pay part of the training of their future recruits, in which Pôle emploi will participate financially.
The company will also travel the roads of France with a mobile truck to provide a quick two-day apprenticeship to plumbers or electricians who do not have the time to follow training. “We don’t claim to teach them everything, but it’s always better than a tutorial on the Internet, which remains the most used solution today”, underlines Jérôme Mouterde. Depending on the demands of installers, he does not rule out developing the training provided in his academy, in order to meet the needs of the field as much as possible.
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