La lettre du GERPISA no 101

Research Questions (1) - Kémal Bécirspahic dit Bécir

Technical and Professional Training Schools
Berliet, Peugeot, Renault: What type of training for what type of trade and employment ?

Three major research questions emanated from the communiques written by Christophe Gallet ("The Berliet school, from apprentices/workers to technical trainees"), Nicolas Hatzfeld ("The Peugeot Apprenticeship School"), and Emannuel Quenson ("The Renault Apprenticeship School"), presented and discussed in the morning session entitled "What type of training for what type of employment?" during our February 16, 1996 workshop:

1. Regarding the origins of these training schools

Did they result from a crisis in apprenticeship among various professions or from a lack of qualified workers? Or else, was it the novelty of the automobile that demanded specific technical needs requiring training that was not yet available in existing traditional trades ? In his article "Apprenticeship in France during the 19th century : rupture or continuity ?", Yves Lequin vigorously contests these hypotheses.

Still another hypothesis could argue that the appearance of these new training programs coincided with attempts to change production and organization methods.

2. Regarding the evolution of these training schools

They evolved significantly insofar as the format and content of the dispensed training are concerned, as well as the level of trainers, targeted qualifications, and finally opportunities for employment both within and outside the company. Inside the company, these schools trained individuals to become qualified maintenance workers, qualified tool-makers and framing workers. During the years between the two World Wars, training essentially involved that of metal workers, metal turners, and machine operators. Did this suffice and correspond to the range of necessary qualifications, or else did this training limit itself to these trades because they were rare during this period of installing new production methods ? What role did the training school play insofar as creating a core center within the company ? Didn't it also produce a large group of people who would then go and work elsewhere ? Is this a rational project for a company ?

An important debate underlines these questions. To what extent and under what conditions can a company become involved in training ? In light of the widespread use of Fordian production forms and postwar technological evolutions, what kind of transformation have these training schools undergone ?

Just what exactly is a "complete, rational, and methodical" training such as it is presented by these school programs? Along a similar vein, does the the notion of "perfecting" designate the transition from a qualified worker to the role, function, and status of a technician ? Does "perfecting" refer to internal promotion procedures and the acquiring of qualifications through the work task itself ? Finally, how and to what extent is all of this affected by the advent of adult/continued education ? Hasn't legislation relative to continued education (1971) encouraged the transformation of the system ?

To what extent are youth actors of the training system ? Up to 1934-35, shop training had the upperhand insofar as time and coefficient are concerned. With shop training playing such a major role, the young worker is necessarily an actor to the same extent as his/her colleague who passes on his/her own particular manipulations, personal tricks, and practical and experienced knowledge. When this system is changed (1935-1960), is the young person as much of an actor as before, and what is his/her experience with regards to theoretical and shop training programs ?

3. Regarding the reasons for their demise

One could interpret professional training as the transition from training provided by corporations to training provided by the State. However, international comparison points to the fact that the training by corporations and the training by company still exist elsewhere. They have perhaps transformed their content and/or function, but they have not been substituted by programs elaborated by the State. Hence, one may contest the idea that they are disappearing. Certain constructors were able to include an apprenticeship section within their adult education centers. For example, today a certain number of training school projects are being designed for rare specialities.

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