Greener jobs or re-greened organisation ? The energy transition challenge to France's public housing employees

Abstract

The bodies that supply France's low-cost rental housing (HLM) are experimenting with their first low-energy buildings. What are the consequences for their employees' jobs and skills? At first sight, the impact does not appear to be dramatic, apart from the need to educate tenants about appropriate practices, in particular for local teams (including building caretakers). For the maintenance technicians, the challenge is to make adjustments to equipment characterised by poor coordination between manufacturers, installers and maintenance companies. As for the programme leaders, they have enjoyed a period of stimulating innovation. For all these professions, however, the priorities that have emerged relate to accumulating experience and contributing to collective learning, which means that the real need is not so much for training as for organisation and management.