Despite his early thirties, Maël Derrien already has a great deal of experience and several strings to his bow. At the beginning of his professional career, he did not hesitate to leave his native Brittany to acquire new skills, then to return to his home region in 2015 by joining the teaching team of the INB (Institut Nautique de Bretagne). His role: to train the trainees in boat mechanics, more specifically on propulsion as a whole, and also to find partners, help the trainees in their professional orientation and sometimes accompany them on a human level.
Since 1965, the INB has been training people in the nautical industry and services. Created and managed by professionals in the sector, this training centre is aimed at young people continuing their studies, adults undergoing professional reconversion, and companies needing to develop the skills of their employees. The INB is based in Concarneau and has two other sites : Port-la-Forêt and Villefranche-sur-Mer near Nice.
What training, what diploma, what skills to hold the position?
An important technical background in nautical mechanics combined with the learning of autonomy
The discovery of marine mechanics, Maël started at a very young age thanks to a father who was a handyman boater. Attracted by advanced mechanics, he directed his schooling towards motorcycles, renowned for their sporty design. With a BEP in his pocket, he quickly realised that mechanical interventions were limited to simple maintenance and decided to change his orientation and turn to boating" that I wasn't really passionate about "says the young man who is always fascinated by performance.
" Without really being convinced, I did a BEP/BAC Professional Nautical Maintenance at the Lycée Saint Gabriel in Pont-L'Abbé, the studies went well overall "Maël is still hungry and decides to deepen his nautical knowledge by a complementary mention at the Lycée Émile James in Etel run by the dedicated Patrick Lebourhis who will train a good number of students.
" That's when I understood marine mechanics and used what I had learned. "It was a kind of revelation, so Maël chose to specialize in outboard motors and troubleshooting.
" Obviously, without my technical training sanctioned by a BEP, a Bac Pro and a complementary mention, I would not have been able to reach my current position, because it is the necessary basis to transmit "insists our trainer.
Maël began his professional life in 2008 on the Var coast in Hyères and quickly learned autonomy. The technical team was reduced to two people, managing customer relations, with the boat's owner often present during interventions, unlike cars or motorcycles. " We can say that we get into the intimacy of the client, it's not in school that we learn ", says Maël.
" In addition to customer relations, being alone, I was in fact the head of the workshop, learned how to organize myself, managed the estimates, the appointments for the launches. All this for a hundred or so customers. In addition, I also advise them on how to improve or use their boats and, of course, provide invoicing.
During this first experience, I really learned a lot beyond mechanics: composites, mechanics, chock, boat handling..
The technical part being very sharp, not having an "old-timer" by my side to explain how to do it, I had to rack my brains to know how it worked. Often on weekends, I consulted the technical documentation to familiarize myself with the technologies.
After this experience, I moved closer to Brittany and settled in La Baule, a period when I had to learn to keep my cool and see what not to do in boating. Employed as a workshop manager, the company was in trouble. I cut short the experience. "
Maël quickly found a job as a technician near La Baule, more oriented in composite and electricity, while continuing to maintain and overhaul a few engines.
" Thanks to the kindness of Patrick Le Bourhis, Suzuki France contacted me for the position of outboard engine technical inspector for the southern zone, Corsica and alpine lakes.
This experience at Suzuki allowed me to tackle the professional customer contact, the technical-sales aspect, the demands of these rather highly specialised positions, i.e. making diagnoses without seeing the engine, which I initially experienced as frustrating, and which allowed me to develop a more sophisticated diagnostic methodology. To discover how a distribution network is structured and to have a more global vision of the variety of distributors to adapt to their operating mode. Also the fact that you don't go home every day. "Maël has had an enriching experience. A position that allows him to be closely involved in the training of mechanics by taking on the role of pedagogue during technical courses dedicated to the distribution network.
To sum up, what Maël regularly exploits from his experiences in his role as a trainer are the tricks he learns over time as his predecessors did, paying attention to customer relations, especially when the student is moving towards a position as a company manager, explaining how a distribution network works, avoiding repeating mistakes, all this Maël makes sure he passes it on at the same level as the requirement of a technical training.
Another point that Maël stresses is to make his audience understand the requirements of engine manufacturers in their procedures, and the need to provide the right information.
What daily life, what are the responsibilities of this profession?
Dispensing technique and making sure everything goes well
" I was lucky enough to occupy positions of responsibility at a very early age that forced me to learn quickly in order to be autonomous in various fields. "
The basic basis in the function of a mechanics trainer is to give courses in mechanics and electromechanics, to help the students evolve, to accompany them while making sure that the human and social aspects of the course go well.
" During this period of vocational training and even reorientation, students can go through difficult times, and being by their side now is reassuring "Maël insists, and doesn't hesitate to get involved with the less solid students.
" The aim is to ensure that the knowledge acquired is integrated in order to pass the final exam in good conditions, with the objective of finding a job and being able to work independently, which is sometimes a real consecration for some students.
My daily work also involves bringing new technical content to the students with the latest generation equipment, developing partnerships with engine manufacturers, which requires a lot of time and energy with the aim of developing a lasting relationship.
It also means freeing up the time needed to prepare training courses, time often taken outside the walls of the INB, at trade fairs when new products are presented, and relying on specific external expertise, such as electric motors, electronics or on-board home automation. "
Maël's goal is to constantly update his pedagogical support and to accompany his students in their professional project.
What are your possible evolutions in the profession?
Remain on the technological watch to provide relevant training content
To draw inspiration from automotive and industrial technologies and apply them to boating. This is why a permanent technical watch is necessary to provide the trainees with relevant content.
Increasingly, the marine mechanic is taking on the role of technician. The technologies are becoming more complex on the mechanical, electrical, electronic and electromechanical parts. My job as a trainer has to keep up with these changes in order to always be at the cutting edge of these technologies.
