Off-Site Campus announces the first certified winners in “off-site project management”

The first French certification dedicated to off-site construction and renovation

Supported by the HORS SITE Campus, the “Piloting an off-site project” certification was registered in October 2023 in the Specific Directory (RS) established by France Compétence. Bearing the number RS6143, this is the very first off-site certification recognized by the financing and regulatory authority for vocational training. It is aimed at all stakeholders involved in an off-site construction or renovation project (project owners, project management assistants, architects, design offices, inspection offices, construction companies, industrial builders) and is structured around nine key skills, thus providing a common benchmark.

For Julie-Anne Millet, Director of the OFF-SITE Campus: « The validation of this certification was a major step forward for the HORS SITE Campus, and a decisive step towards the recognition of these construction methods in France. We must now continue our efforts to professionalize off-site and thus achieve the full potential expected of these new construction methods: improved quality, reduced lead times, environmental impact and costs. »

This certification is a timely response to the need for additional skills specific to this new, booming construction method. Individually, it offers the person who obtains it official validation of their expertise in this field. On a more global scale, the employer can enhance the certification obtained by its employees by setting an internal level of requirement in the completion of off-site projects and by giving confidence to its customers/partners.

A first decisive step towards the deployment of off-site in France

During the first half of this year, eleven candidates followed the training program: around ten project management professionals from the Polylogis Group – a global housing operator fully committed to off-site construction – as well as the manager of Alternative Bois Concept, a construction industrialist located in the North of France. At the end of a full 65-hour course (around ten days), they were able to take the assessment tests consisting of solving real-life case studies.

the 1^er Last July, a jury of professionals, experienced in the field of off-site, met and awarded certification to eight candidates, while two will take the resit exam later this month. The official presentation of certifications was organized on July 4 in Paris during an event bringing together members of the HORS SITE Campus.

For Cédric Loret, Deputy General Manager Strategy and Sustainable Development at Polylogis: « There is a lot of expertise in this field: to do something, you have to know how to do it. This requires our employees to develop specific and complementary skills. We want to be one of the first housing operators to support our employees in managing off-site operations through training and certification, which are essential to achieving our objectives. »

The certification of these professionals comes in a context of high demand and expectation for off-site construction, coupled with structural and cultural barriers. Indeed, according to the Off-Site Barometer 2023 published by BATIMAT, ACIM and the HORS SITE Campus, the two main barriers to project performance lie – for stakeholders who have already experimented with off-site – in the lack of available skills and the embryonic knowledge of off-site solutions by clients.

For Philippe Marras, Founding President of AVELIS and President of the Jury: « Working with trained project owners will make it much more efficient to implement the off-site construction projects that many stakeholders are now looking to launch.. Building or renovating off-site cannot be improvised: it requires understanding a new work process at each stage of a project's life and learning to collaborate differently with the various stakeholders. Too many stakeholders embark on ambitious off-site projects without having had the time to measure all the impacts of this choice or to adapt their approach, right from the design stage of the building. »

Supporting the professionalization of the French off-site sector

The next class of the “Managing an off-site project” training will begin its course in September 2024, even though the Campus has initiated the process to make its training courses eligible for the personal training account (CPF).

For Anaïs Augereau, training director and project accelerator at the HORS SITE Campus: « After raising awareness among more than 8.000 people since 2019 and training more than 750 trainees, we have seen a change in the demand for training: some players have fully integrated off-site into their development strategy. Among other things, they have initiated training plans for their entire management team. We can therefore only be delighted to see our construction method being installed at the heart of more and more projects. »

In addition, while three major project owners in the Paris region (3F, Société du Grand Paris and Grand Paris Aménagement) recently created the "Association of French Off-Site Actors", the Campus intends to play a leading role in the professionalization of the sector by deploying a range of training courses for all professions in the value chain (project owners, project managers, general and specialized construction companies, craftsmen and manufacturers).