OPPBTP signs a cooperation agreement with the Ministry of National Education and Youth to promote prevention training in vocational education

This agreement, signed for 5 years, has the main objective of developing the culture of prevention of occupational risks among young people preparing a national education diploma, and of anchoring it from their first steps in business, seeing it as a driver of performance and excellence. As part of the renovation of professional diplomas led by National Education, the OPPBTP will also offer its expertise and educational tools in order to best meet the requirements of preparing tomorrow's companions.

Health and safety at work: a priority to be included in the skills to be acquired in initial training

Including risk prevention in the skills to be acquired in initial training is a priority that appears in the OPPBTP's @Horizon2025 strategic plan. The organization is increasing its actions to promote it and ensure that these good practices become reflexes throughout the learners' future careers. Trainees and apprentices are more exposed to the dangers of the professions. Between the ages of 15 and 19, they have on average twice as many accidents, all professional sectors and age groups combined[1]. Construction and Public Works, particularly exposed to serious and fatal accidents, are no exception to the rule.

This agreement signed with the Ministry of National Education and Youth will be rolled out and adapted within the various academies, and will allow the OPPBTP to adapt to the needs on the ground in all branches of professional education in the professions of architecture and construction, wood, building and public works and to set up effective coordinated actions. This agreement succeeds the previous framework agreement signed with the Ministry of National Education in 2012 and aims to extend and expand the actions already undertaken in the academies and with the Ministry. It is in line with the spirit of the agreement signed between the Ministry and the National Health Insurance Fund to ensure consistency of actions between the diplomas of the construction industry and other professional branches.

Adapting diplomas to changing professions

Vocational education diplomas are constantly adapting. The evolution of the training offer makes it possible to better prepare young people for the jobs of the future and to better respond to contemporary challenges. National Education has clearly identified the prevention of occupational risks and safety at work as areas of vigilance for jobs carried out on construction sites.

The signing of this agreement offers the OPPBTP the opportunity to participate in the discussions undertaken to improve diplomas and educational pathways. This renewal is an opportunity to better integrate skills and knowledge concerning health and safety at work in all vocational education diplomas: Certificate of professional aptitude, Professional certificate, Professional baccalaureate, Certificate of specialization, Higher technician certificate. The OPPBTP already actively participates in the renovation of 5 to 10 construction diplomas per year.

The OPPBTP will participate in working groups related to the program established by the professional consultative commission (CPC) construction. The two partners will ensure the joint promotion of prevention, particularly during seminars. The ministry will support the creation of academic training plans including the health and safety dimension in the renovation of professional diplomas in Building and Public Works.

Supporting National Education trainers

The OPPBTP already supports 190 establishments, CFA, companion houses or vocational high schools. The organization created the Pedagogical Workshops in Prevention (APeP) to allow teachers to mobilize all available resources (documentation, digital resources, distance learning modules, fun-educational modules) within their teaching sequences. The ministry is committed to supporting the organization of these workshops and to promoting them to inspectors of the National Education for Science and Industrial Technology (IEN-STI) and establishments. The OPPBTP trains approximately 300 teachers and trainers per year, half of whom come from vocational high schools.

The OPPBTP will continue to provide teachers and trainers, via its website www.preventionbtp.fr, already rich with 3.800 teacher accounts created, all resources developed specifically for the educational environment.

Building on the success of the “100 Minutes for Life” campaign

The Ministry of National Education is also committed to continuing to promote the "100 minutes for life" campaign among learners in vocational training. Its aim is to instill good reflexes in young people joining the construction industry and to change the way they may view the notion of danger. Since its creation, the operation has raised awareness among nearly 250.000 students and apprentices. The last edition raised awareness among 15.700 learners and teachers in the construction industry in 196 professional establishments and AFPA centers. From now on, the OPPBTP will give access to the challenge to all vocational high schools and CFA of the national education system and GRETA focused on the construction and public works professions.

Securing the first period of professional training (PFMP)

Finally, the OPPBTP will provide teachers and trainers with its educational tools as part of the preparation for the first periods of training in a professional environment (PFMP). When discovering construction sites and workshops in construction companies, young people find themselves exposed to new risks that should be prepared for in advance. The OPPBTP will be able to support teachers in this process, either using existing tools, such as APeP, or by designing specific awareness workshops, adapted to the educational project of the establishment.

Relying on the Campus des métiers et des qualifications (CMQJ) networks

The Campuses of Trades and Qualifications are educational structures created to meet the specific needs of skills in strategic economic sectors. The Ministry of National Education and Youth relies on its partners to develop the attractiveness of vocational training and thus meet the skills needs of the territories. The OPPBTP is committed to integrating itself into this network of partners spread throughout the territory, in order to go even further in the actions carried out with vocational high schools linked to construction.

[1] Source: DARES, Statistics 2019.