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As the shortage of engineers becomes a matter of concern in France – it is estimated that the French economy needs 50,000 new recruits each year – some French companies have decided to turn to African countries. Morocco, Senegal, Madagascar or even Tunisia are of close interest to French recruiters in need of gray matter. There, there are French-speaking engineers, well trained and in large numbers. A boon ! Our correspondent in Tunis, Amira Souilem, followed recruiters from Paris who were determined to recruit Tunisian engineers.
The ritual is now well established. Every other Saturday, in this Tunis conference center, French recruiters parade in front of several dozen Tunisian engineers. That day, Yannick Wack came to offer around twenty positions on behalf of major French banking establishments: “ There were a lot of obstacles from customers at the start, saying to themselves : “we have needs, but are we going to go so far as to recruit foreign engineers?” We had a fear at the start in terms of training, but in fact, we find an equivalence. These are people who are not going to be locked into their posts, they are people who are going to be proactive and who are going to want to move forward. »
While French recruiters lack arms, Tunisian engineers are only asking to offer theirs. Like the two young men you meet near the well-stocked buffet: “ Tunisia is only going backwards, the country is no longer advancing. There, it turns out that there are opportunities in France, but I will go anywhere. Everything, except Tunisia in fact. » « Leaving is now a general culture in Tunisia. Even our employers here are aware of this, and it suits them because they know that they cannot pay us as much as we want and that we therefore go to work dragging our feet. »
Tunisian engineers on one side. French recruiters on the other. And in the middle: Saber Mahbouli, colossus in his forties. Very talkative and easy to contact, the man has set up a structure that facilitates contact between his colleagues and French recruiters. His company has placed more than a thousand Tunisian engineers in around fifty partner companies, including big names in the CAC40: ” All the customers who come, they say “I want ten, I want fifteen”. I have a client who asked me for a thousand. There are hundreds of thousands of engineers missing, there is a real, real shortage in Europe. I do not know why. I think that IT is not perceived as a noble profession in France whereas for us in Africa, in general, it is a noble profession. »
While the debate in Tunisia is mounting on what is called here the “brain drain”, he prefers to see things differently: ” I myself went to France and came back, so where is the brain drain? All the “success stories” we have in Tunisia, in IT, are people who left and came back. I mightn’t find any example of someone who did something ambitious, impactful in Tunisia, in IT, and who didn’t go abroad. »
While waiting for a possible return to the country, these engineers know that they will be able to take off their career and their salary. From 300 euros in Tunisia, the salary of a beginner – shortage obliges – will be multiplied by ten at the very least in France.
