Securing jobs and strengthening businesses are among the main aims of the recent tripartite agreement. These goals are already being advanced through existing collaborations between the National Employment Agency (ADEM) and companies in need of staff.
One such targeted partnership has been running for ten years between ADEM and food wholesaler La Provençale. Thanks to this cooperation, around 120 unemployed individuals have been trained as professional lorry drivers.
Helder Azevedo usually begins his shift at 8am in Leudelange. Originally from Portugal, Azevedo lost his previous job during the coronavirus pandemic and found himself unemployed. With the help of ADEM and La Provençale, he was able to retrain and is now satisfied in his new role at the wholesale supplier.
La Provençale, which currently employs 1,700 people, is constantly on the lookout for reliable drivers to operate its fleet of 210 refrigerated trucks across Luxembourg.
Gaby Wagner, Deputy Director of ADEM, explained the approach: "We sat down together to assess what the company needed." They then brought in the National Centre for Continuing Vocational Training (CNFPC), the Driver Training Centre (CFC), and a driving school.
The partnership has continued ever since, with La Provençale committing to hire those who complete the training as delivery drivers, she further explained.
Over the past decade, 120 people have earned their delivery driver certificates through the scheme. Around 40 of them are still employed at La Provençale today.
For Azevedo, the daily routine involves managing an impressive logistics operation: crates of food products are stacked everywhere, ready to be dispatched to clients. While computers assist with the process, drivers still need to stay on top of logistics.
Nuno Marques, head of logistics at La Provençale, highlighted the scale of the operation. He mentioned loading about 200 trucks every morning between 3.30am and 9.30am, completing 3,000 deliveries a day. The drivers need to know exactly what to do and how to load their goods, he added.
The work is demanding, requiring not just organisational skills and attention to food safety and hygiene, but also physical endurance.
The cold inside the warehouse is no longer a challenge for Azevedo, as it’s only cold when they're loading. As soon as they finish and hit the road, "it gets better".
He especially enjoys being behind the wheel. He noted that driving such a big truck is complicated and one has to be "constantly vigilant".
Everyone who completes the training is offered a permanent contract with La Provençale and paid at least the qualified minimum wage. ADEM covers the costs of the training, as well as unemployment support for participants during the course.
According to Gaby Wagner, similar initiatives are in place with other employers, including a collaboration with Cactus’s fish department, which even involved a trip to Boulogne-sur-Mer for trainees.
Once participants complete these programmes, companies like Cactus or partners in the skilled trades sector offer them jobs.
As Azevedo makes his first delivery of the day, he swiftly unloads the crates, knowing exactly what each restaurant has ordered. Both he and his employer are pleased with the outcome of his career change, which is a testament to the success of the partnership between ADEM and La Provençale.
