PARIS (Feb. 24, 2009)—French professional rubber groups are together launching an operation to preserve and disseminate rubber skills and ensure that the people who possess them can continue to contribute to the industry.
The initiative is especially focused on the small and medium enterprises and an aging population in the sector who are likely to retire soon.
The project is led by Elastopole in partnership with UCAPLAST (the Federation of European and International Public Service Unions of SME of Rubber and Plasturgie) and the Syndicat National du Caoutchouc et des Polymères.
In the coming five years, more than 10,000 employees are due to retire in the French rubber sector.
The program "DEFI PME Caoutchouc" or "Challenge SME Rubber" will assess skills and competencies among employees at a panel of 45 companies.
Thereafter, the program aims to assess the impact of future retirements on the company and how their competitiveness may change, and then to help with recruiting to fill skills gaps.