Anaëlle discovered her passion for engineering at an early age. Due to her interest in scientific subjects, she decided to complete the general engineering programme at Arts et Métiers which gave her an overall view of the profession.

Following the course, Anaëlle carried out a final-year internship in a project management role at the company BAMEO. Keen to develop her career in the VINCI Group, she joined its graduate scheme which provided project management training over the course of a year. She was then offered an initial assignment by Actemium: “I was responsible for upskilling German colleagues as part of a maintenance contract at Safran in Hamburg and liaising with French clients.” On completion of the assignment, Anaëlle took on new responsibilities at Cegelec Défense Infrastructures & Réseaux in Toulouse, where she is currently working on electromagnetic shielding for the armed forces. What she likes about Cegelec is that she has the opportunity to work on medium to long-term projects that change regularly: “I know I won’t get bored, I’ll keep learning new things about this science and technology. That’s why I want to stay in the company for as long as possible,” says Anaëlle.

Sensitive to the issue of young women’s inclusion in scientific and technical professions, she takes part every year in the “Vis ma vie d’ingénieur” (life as an engineer) scheme organised by the Arts et Métiers school in Bordeaux. Together with another former student, she presents the profession and her background to current year groups. Speaking of her experience at VINCI Energies, she explains that: “There’s no gender distinction, each person finds their place and it’s all organic. Our team’s main strength is dialogue. Mistakes are accepted, and you learn to be very open with each other so as to move projects forward effectively and collaboratively.”   

She is still very happy with her decision to become an engineer: “Being an engineer means you have the freedom to choose how to solve a problem and/or in what way to meet a need. One of the values that VINCI Energies promotes is autonomy, and I’m fortunate to experience that on a daily basis. I have the opportunity to make choices, I’m free to organise my work as I see fit in order meet my clients’ and my managers’ requirements. That’s what I like about my job.”