“Anchored students, who want meaning and concreteness”: who are these Bretons who want to study and work in the country?
Callac, Guingamp, Pordic: the whole life of Tamara Le Talec fits into a pocket handkerchief. A master 2 student in business and society innovation at the UCO (Catholic University of the West) in Guingamp, the 22-year-old young woman “loves her territory” and never imagined moving away from it to train.
“After my economic and social baccalaureate at Pavie high school, I followed up with an economics-management degree, which took me to AES (economic and social administration). I went there for business and I discovered that human resources and marketing also interested me a lot,” she explains, busy in the Pordice premises of cardboard packaging designer Mizenboîte.
We are dealing with grounded students, who want meaning and concreteness. The SME is a very educational scale, which lends itself to innovation and corresponds to them.
“Swiss army knife” profiles
Her ambition led her to a bac + 5, in the same Guingamp faculty. “Above all, I like versatility. This master’s degree should allow me to approach SMEs in my sector and not get bored. » Promise kept. Not only has Tamara flourished in her second year of work-study, but she is currently also defining the contours of her future job.
His boss, Pierre-Yves Le Brun, plans to hire him. He saw in this first partnership with UCO an opportunity to support the development of his two small businesses (Roto Armor and Mizenboîte). “I also recognized myself in Tamara,” admits the 35-year-old Breton. Like her, I stayed in Brittany after my baccalaureate. Like her, I wanted field experiences very early in my business studies. I had my first job at Roto Armor at 21 years old. It is no coincidence that I took over the company, returning from Paris, four years ago. »
At the carton packaging designer Mizenboîte, the young woman moved from marketing to website management, while improving her knowledge of manufacturing and product constraints. No routine. “We are dealing with grounded students, who want meaning and concreteness. The SME is a very educational scale, which lends itself to innovation and corresponds to them,” notes, for his part, the training manager, Vincent Berthelot. It selects thirteen “Swiss army knife” profiles each year, for a master’s degree that is certainly paying (4,700 to 6,000 euros per year for initial training, paid for by the company in the event of a work-study program) but “growing”.
Kelig Harel, master 2 marine engineering student at UBS Lorient, is doing his work-study program at Avel Robotics. “A fruitful collaboration, which should continue at the end of the year,” announces the company’s co-founder, Adrien Marchandise. (Vincent Le Guern)
“Everything I was looking for”
At the other end of Brittany, in Morbihan, Kelig Harel, 23, is working on the composite materials that power offshore racing foils. Since last year, Le Rennais has been following the very young master’s degree in marine engineering at the University of South Brittany (UBS). He immersed himself in the world of the Lorient “Composite Valley”, landing a work-study program at Avel Robotics, one of the nuggets of innovation located in the heart of the former submarine base.
The young man has not left his native region either. “After a STI2D technological baccalaureate at the Jolio-Curie high school in Rennes, I followed a DUT in mechanical and production engineering at the IUT, then an L3 in engineering sciences at university. I heard about the new master’s degree in Lorient through word of mouth, he says. I have always been attracted to the sea and boats. I was promised to explore naval architecture and discover new materials, in a spirit of performance and sustainable development. It was everything I was looking for! »
“Sea lovers rather than a very good honors in the baccalaureate”
In the city of six ports, Kelig quickly adapted to the small class of around fifteen people. Responsible for the training he co-created in 2021, teacher-researcher Antoine Le Duigou is recruiting “less mathematical and more pragmatic profiles”, who do not come from major engineering schools. “I want future employees to adapt quickly and know how to ask the right questions when they leave here. To choose, I prefer sea lovers with lower grades in math than a very good grade in the baccalaureate. »
With 250 applications per year, this “well-rounded” master’s degree already enjoys a good reputation. The ocean racing ecosystem also has a lot to do with it. The co-founder of Avel Robotics, Adrien Marchandise, 34, is a pillar and supporter of the master’s degree, from which he welcomes a work-study student every year. “Kelig works in research and development with us and we would like to make this collaboration last. » Last year, the Rennais took advantage of the bridges that the composite created between Lorient and New Zealand to spend six months in Auckland. Today, Kelig Harel plans to extend his studies with a three-year thesis on composite materials. Always in Lorient. “My new home base,” he assures.