Employment at the service of disability in Brittany

Julia BARONE and Erwan PITOIS

Executive Director of Up’Intérim and President of Breizh EATT

Adapted temporary work company

We are increasing the range of possible solutions for people with disabilities in finding employment.

Employment at the service of disability in Brittany

In Brittany and Pays de la Loire

Adapted temporary work company

5 September 2018: the goal posts moved for companies promoting the integration of disabled persons in the workplace, referred to as “adapted companies”. Indeed, the French law known as the “ freedom to choose one’s professional future ” law opened the way for temporary work experience for people with disabilities.

Julia Barone and Erwan Pitois, two adapted business leaders in Brittany and members of the UNEA (National Union of Adapted Companies), are taking the subject to a regional level. Bringing together twelve other stakeholders – representing 50% of the adapted companies in their region – they set up the adapted temporary work company Breizh EATT in early 2020. Today, it comprises four branches in Rennes, Saint-Brieuc, Lorient and Quimper, known as “Up’interim”.
Breizh EATT is a CICS (Cooperative Society of Collective Interest) and has not come about by chance: “This status marks the desire for territorial cooperation,” explains Pitois. “This is the whole logic behind the project: To be stronger together than we are separately; to be with others, in complete openness.“

Open up new paths

The EATT has the same mission as any adapted undertaking: To create posts and courses for people with disabilities. “But with this new temporary work arrangement, our goal is to reach different profiles: Possibly younger and with more immediate availability for missions. Here we offer more invigorating and challenging career options. Above all, we are increasing the range of possible responses for disabled people seeking employment ,” says Erwan Pitois.
“Not to mention that our goal is to be sustainable,” says Barone. “A real plus for temporary workers but also for companies that call on us. They are mostly in the usual environment and in all sectors of activity (car, cleaning, wiring, green space maintenance, etc.) and can use these missions to then integrate employees sustainably into their workforce“. Thus, in one year, 800 qualified and ready-to-use people registered, 120 were found positions and 20 were taken on permanently.

Ready for recovery

These results are very encouraging in view of the health crisis that exploded the day after the opening of Up’Intérim… despite having to close during the first confinement and re-opening in the middle of summer, traditionally the least dynamic period for temporary employment contracts. Reducing Breizh EATT’s ambitions was not the order of the day, however!
Therefore to resize the project in view of the health situation and continue to develop the project that was already in progress, they contracted, in addition to a loan guaranteed by the State, a joint loan of 60,000 euros, via France Active, which supported them from the beginning.
France Active Bretagne accompanied them upstream in 2020 under the Fonds de confiance programme: “Appearing before this committee allowed us to benefit from expertise and cross-examination of our project, giving us the opportunity to shift up a gear. This support has been key. Especially since France Active is a key player across the region and therefore has extensive knowledge of our local networks, this is essential,” says Erwan Pitois.

Today, Breizh EATT’s next challenge is to anticipate recovery by building resources, targeting gaps in training, and preparing for a recovery alongside other companies in the region. “We can count on a pool of 800 people in all types of occupations and jobs – even highly skilled jobs – that’s massive! We are far from the image of the disabled employee, who can do only a few tasks. So we’ll be there for companies who will be looking for skills as soon as they open back up. We’re ready! “, concludes Julian Barone.