Employment in construction and industry: LIP chooses hyper-specialization and stays the course in a rapidly changing sector

The market tremors once again seem to be moving towards a recovery. In the construction industry, the slowdown in inflation associated with the fall in interest rates should play a favorable role in this scenario. How does the LIP Group manage, despite everything, to position itself as a major player in the Industry and Building (IB) sector by posting a turnover up 11,23% over the last financial year? A look back at LIP's businesses and the Group's development strategy to meet the new challenges of a rapidly changing sector.

Sectors in search of highly qualified personnel

But first, what do we mean by Industry and Building? Within the LIP Group, the Building Industry (IB) branch brings together several very distinct sectors of activity. In construction, we mainly find the traditional trades of structural work and secondary work, while industry, for its part, includes trades linked to metal such as welders, pipefitters, boilermakers, metalworkers, as well as those in maintenance. . The Group is thus present in sectors such as petrochemicals, nuclear power, wine, pharmaceuticals and even food... "which are constantly looking for qualified, even highly qualified, personnel", as Arnaud Labat points out.

Every day, more than 6.300 qualified temporary workers seconded to the IB branch

Today, faced with disparities between sectors: construction, for example, being hit harder on new construction projects with high bank interest rates and the increase in materials and energy which contribute to this slowdown; while the renovation sector resists and stays the course... In this changing context, the LIP Group is doing rather well and is meeting its objectives in the IB branch. For the 2023 financial year, turnover increased by 11.23% compared to 2022. “In the first half of 2024, despite the notable slowdown in the national market, we are growing at constant scope by 1.41% on turnover. Every day, we post more than 6.300 qualified temporary workers to the IB branch,” explains Arnaud Labat.

A strategy that protects the group against economic variations

While there are disparities within the construction industry, certain sectors, such as the nuclear market, supported by ambitious government plans such as "France 2030" are booming. Demand has remained strong and constant, and the LIP Group is positioning itself on a development strategy by delegating qualified personnel to specialized professions in the technical, nuclear and construction industries. “Being a multi-specialist, by also combining our transport and tertiary branches, protects us from economic variations and makes us unique on the market. We advocate the notion of a single point of contact, where each project manager handles the entire relationship and follow-up with their clients and temporary workers, because building this bond of trust is essential in our profession. In addition, LIP Academy, our training school, has launched a vast project dedicated to “job training” which offers our employees in-depth knowledge of the specificities and codes of the jobs they are seconding, making them real experts” for Arnaud Labat.

112 agencies dedicated entirely to industry and construction professions

For Arnaud Labat: “The LIP Group has been moving for several years towards a hyper-specialized and multi-specialized sectoral development strategy. Our agencies, located in medium-sized cities, assign each business manager the development of 3 to 4 professions to meet needs and ensure territorial coverage. For hyper specialization, LIP is present in strategic employment areas and metropolises, where each employee or expert pair focuses on a single profession. We rely on our certifications division (MASE, CEFRI, HYPERBARES) to penetrate and develop these hyper-specialized markets. With 112 agencies in Industry and Building (61 in multi-spec and 51 in hyper-spe), LIP positions itself on a homogeneous and relatively successful national network. »

Launched in 2021, post-covid, the "24" project aimed to open 24 agencies in 24 months... Objective achieved and even exceeded since in the end 36 new LIP agencies were created throughout France. In terms of strategy, the Group is continuing its territorial coverage and targeting strategic employment areas. The objective is to conquer new market shares in specialized professions while retaining its DNA. Digitalization, specialization and foreign development will be the topics for LIP in the near future.