Life long learning : Veolia boosts hiring and training for ecological transition
Hiring an employee on a permanent contract every 20 minutes, Veolia is one of the TOP 10 private employers in France. This commitment to employment is currently reflected in 1,500 immediate vacancies throughout the country.
At the same time, the Group is strengthening its focus on training by launching Terra Academia, a continuing education program for electronic maintenance technicians. The first intake of trainees started on February 6 at the Terra Academia de l'Artois campus in Arras (Hauts-de-France).
With both recruitment and training, Veolia is anticipating the growing need for skills to support ecological transformation. By 2030, this shift is expected to directly impact nearly 8 million jobs in France. In the industrial and energy sectors, electromechanical technicians and supervisors will be among the most in-demand roles, with 60,000 jobs needed. However, a lack of training programs and the limited appeal of these careers has led to structural labor shortages.
Regional challenges and workforce needs
In Hauts-de-France alone, an estimated 11,000 electro-technical jobs will be required over the next decade to support gigafactories in Battery Valley and small businesses in Greater Artois. According to France Travail Emploi, the mechanical and electromechanical sectors accounted for 80% of the 200 recruitment projects identified in 2023 in Artois Ternois, Lens, and western mining areas. These professions are now among Veolia’s top hiring priorities both regionally and nationally.
A springboard for Veolia employees
The new continuing education program, co-created by Veolia and Terra Academia, is designed exclusively for current Veolia employees, including:
- Operating agents
- Maintenance operatives
- Plant operators
- Maintenance technicians
Running from February to December 2025, the nine-month course will alternate between training periods at AFPA centers and hands-on experience at sites specializing in water, waste treatment, and energy management.
The first cohort of nine employees began training the first week of February at the Terra Academia de l'Artois campus in Arras. Throughout 2025, the program will expand nationwide with:
- An “industrial maintenance technician” track in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and Grand Est
- An all-women “industrial technician maintenance” cohort in Grand Est
- A “plant operators” course in eastern France, aligned with industry needs
Veolia’s goal is to strengthen internal mobility across its key business lines—water, energy, and waste treatment—through regionally tailored training. The program is also expected to scale up to a European and international level, aligning with Veolia’s presence in nearly 45 countries.
A commitment to lifelong learning
This initiative is part of Veolia’s broader training strategy. In 2023, over 94% of Veolia’s 218,000 employees worldwide received training, amounting to nearly 5.9 million hours of learning, including 1 million hours in France alone—an average of 29 hours per full-time employee.
"At Veolia, professional training is an essential right for our employees to enable them to develop their careers. This course in electromechanical maintenance, developed with Terra Academia, illustrates our ambition to support employees and recruit talent in order to meet skills requirements in jobs that are in short supply so that we can successfully meet the challenges of ecological transformation," says Estelle Brachlianoff, Veolia's Chief Executive Officer.
"This pioneering initiative with Veolia is the first time that Terra Academia's scientific and teaching expertise has incorporated an ecological transformation dimension into a technical training course. It's a model that we hope to adapt to other partner companies and sectors of activity," adds Jean-Michel Blanquer, Chairman of Terra Academia.
By investing in both hiring and training, Veolia is taking proactive steps to bridge the skills gap and support the workforce needed for a sustainable future.