In the shadow of the Flamanville nuclear power plant, Cotentin bets on industry

The Cotentin, its beaches, its war relics, its nuclear industry and its shipyards: the cradle of the Flamanville EPR reactor which should deliver its first electrons by the end of autumn, the territory hopes to establish an "economic miracle" boosted by industry, provided that the recruitment equation can be resolved.

"In this pool, we have a storage capacity (of nuclear fuel) of around 3.600 tonnes": Jean-Christophe Varin, deputy director of the Orano plant in La Hague, overlooks an immense pool of blue water in which dozens of "baskets" of radioactive material destined for recycling are cooling.

The company is one of the symbols of the surge in industrial employment on the peninsula: "today, Orano, a specialist in the nuclear fuel cycle, hires 600 people on permanent/fixed-term contracts per year, plus 300 apprentices," Mr. Varin emphasizes. For the company, which is supposed to benefit from the announced revival of nuclear power in France, the rate of hiring "can only increase."

Because the current pace does not take into account the new projects announced by the State at La Hague, which provide for the construction of two new factories dedicated to the manufacture of recycled MOX fuel and the reprocessing of nuclear waste.

The dynamics of nuclear power, which also saw EDF welcome 5.000 people for the construction of the new EPR in Flamanville, has largely contributed to the "totally ignored economic miracle" of the region, according to economist Laurent Davezies.

Between 2016 and 2022, the Cotentin urban community saw a 30% increase in the number of jobs created in industry, from nearly 10.000 to around 13.000, according to Mr. Davezies.

This observation is generally confirmed by the analysis firm Trendeo, for whom the Cherbourg-Octeville employment zone is "among the most dynamic over 2016-2022": over this period, 61% of job creation announcements were in industry compared to 25% on average in France.

But a pitfall threatens the beautiful Normandy machinery: "Where do we look for skills and how do we train them?" asks Vincent Hurel, CGT general secretary of Naval Group, another major contributor to industrial employment in the region. He rages against the lack of training and/or trainers.

Avoiding the recruitment “wall”

Naval Group's Cherbourg site employs 5.000 people. The naval defence industry specialist, which directly employs 3.300 people, recruits an average of 250 employees each year.

In addition to the general improvement in the job market, which has increased competition between recruiters, there is "a problem of industrial demography", notes Alexandre Saubot, president of France Industrie.

With a "rise in retirements" linked to "hiring cycles of 30 or 40 years ago", the industry will have "more than a million recruitments to make in the next ten years", according to Mr. Saubot.

"If we do nothing, we're heading towards a wall. But we're doing it!" says Serge Quaranta, CEO of Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie (CMN), another flagship of the naval industry.

In the shadow of the hull of a 71-metre corvette being welded, he proudly shows off the latest home-built, which looks like a flying saucer: the next Tara polar station. It will take scientists to the North Pole to study the consequences of global warming.

CMN has seen its workforce increase by 60% since 2019, a result of an abundant order book, but also an acceleration in retirements linked to asbestos.

In unison with regional industrialists, Mr. Quaranta assures that competition has given way to collaboration, particularly with regard to a highly sought-after skill, both in the nuclear and naval sectors: welding.

"Everyone was fighting over welders, but in recent years we have managed to talk among ourselves," assures Mr. Quaranta, who praises the alliance that led to the creation two years ago of "Hefaïs", a school that trains 200 welders each year.

A second engineering school is due to open soon in Cherbourg.

But if they want to prioritize local employment, the region's industrialists know that this will not be enough and are recruiting everywhere in France and even abroad.

"We are aware of our recruitment difficulties, of the difficulty sometimes in convincing people to come to the area," assures David Margueritte, president of the Cotentin agglomeration (LR), who is working to "correct" the deficiencies in terms of housing and transport infrastructure.