NEWMOTOR: An HR Policy to Develop New Skills at a French Company in the Aeronautics Industry

This case study is about NEWMOTOR, which is part of a French international group that is one of the leaders in the aeronautics industry. The company produces very complex composite material parts for "aircraft engines of the future" that consume less fuel, are lighter, and are much quieter. NEWMOTOR is required to master an innovative 4.0 industrial process, which can contribute toward a rapid increase in production volumes. The skills required for this could not be totally defined a priori because the use of composite materials moved away from the traditional working methods in aeronautics. Additionally, the extremely strict quality standards in the aeronautic industry have made the challenge even greater. This case presents the HRM issues raised by such an industrial challenge and highlights the need to build an HRM system in order to allow the development and transmission of new skills and the recruitment of 200 new employees within a few months. After reading this case, the students will be able to examine the transfer of production skills of operators from one site to another in an innovative context, explore massive recruitment when the required skills do not exist in the local labor market, design internal skills transfer system through tutoring, and maintain the efficiency of the skills transfer system beyond the launch phase.