The little miracle of Cotentin thanks to industrial jobs

Planted to the northwest of the tip of the Cotentin, the La Hague reprocessing plant (Manche), owned by the Orano group, extends over nearly 300 hectares. The ultra-secure nuclear waste storage and recycling site, surrounded by barbed wire, with a breathtaking view of the sea, must still expand to absorb an increase in activity expected in the coming years. On sunny days, from its heights you can see the dome of the future EPR reactor in Flamanville, built about twenty kilometers on the other side of the Vauville cove. A landscape that alone bears witness to the industrial footprint of this Normandy region.

A study commissioned by the Cotentin urban community, which includes 129 municipalities including Cherbourg, La Hague and Valognes, from economist Laurent Davezies indicates that the local industrial basin is more dynamic in job creation than other metropolises often cited as examples such as Toulouse or Nantes. According to the study, industry represents nearly a quarter of the 54,000 salaried jobs in the Cotentin, compared to 14% for the whole of metropolitan France, with a 30% increase in creations between 2016 and 2022, far ahead of the 8% and 11% of the “pink city” and the capital of Loire-Atlantique.

A vitality that depends a lot on the nuclear and naval defense sectors, which are very active in the department. In addition to Orano, the largest employer in the north of Cotentin with some 6,000 employees, many industrialists are present, such as Naval Group, Constructions mécaniques de Normandie (CMN), EDF, etc. “For around ten years, Cotentin has concentrated its efforts on its main strengths, which are nuclear, maritime and energy”explains David Margueritte, the president (Les Républicains, LR) of the urban community, recognizing that “The territory still has difficulty in making its assets known, compared for example to [ses] Breton neighbors ».

Talent shortages

The need for manpower is significant, with tensions expected in the coming years in highly qualified professions. The department’s sluggish demographics require recruiting far from the employment area. “We are in a peninsula ecosystem without a large metropolis to concentrate wealth. Attracting talent is a real challenge”explains Marianne Guillier, head of attractiveness and recruitment at Naval Group.

To address talent shortages, industrialists have created a school of excellence in welding in Cherbourg with local public authorities to train the elite of welders in the nuclear and naval sectors. “We recruit locally, nationally and even internationally”explains Serge Quaranta, CEO of CMN, while giving a tour of his Cherbourg hangars where a military corvette ordered by the United Arab Emirates Navy is currently being manufactured, and the Tara Polar scientific station of the Tara Ocean Foundation which is preparing to join the Arctic to conduct studies on climate change.

You have 28.87% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.