I am Jérôme Gerbaud, a native of the Loire Atlantique region and founder and manager of Ohlala Placements.
For this first article of our blog, I would like to tell you the story that links me to the Erasmus + programme and that led to the creation of Ohlala Placements.
Like many people, I had heard of Erasmus and I thought (like many) that this programme was only for university students. It was during my apprenticeship at the CFA of the CMA 44 that I realised that this programme was also accessible to other people. During my apprenticeship, I was responsible for managing the administrative part of the mobility actions organised by the CFA and from which some of these apprentices benefited. Seeing the feedback from young people who were delighted with their experience abroad aroused my curiosity. And so, once I had graduated from my BTS (vocational training certificate) as a small business management assistant, I seized the opportunity to go abroad myself for six months. To do this, I found an internship in an intermediary organisation based in Nottingham, UK.
THIS ERASMUS EXPERIENCE ABROAD WAS AN EYE-OPENER AND CHANGED MY LIFE!
When I embarked on this experience, I had no idea that it would lead me to build a career and a life that I could never have imagined.
In the UK I quickly fell in love with the country. The language, the culture, the work and the people I met were all new to me and so different. At the beginning it was not easy every day, but I really enjoyed learning, discovering and meeting new people. The 6 months passed very quickly and the internship went very well. When it was over, I made the decision not to go back to France - instead I wanted to stay in England so that I could continue to explore more of this country. I still had too many things to learn, moments to experience and beautiful people to meet there.
The company offered me a job and I became their first employee. From then on and over the following years, I improved my English, gained confidence and took on more and more responsibility within the company. As the company grew, so did my progress. From a young French trainee who could barely speak English, I became the project assistant who helped the participants settle in the UK and find accommodation. I then accompanied these young professionals throughout their Erasmus experience (preparation, regular follow-up meetings to overcome difficult situations). But I also did a lot of research and developed new partnerships with host companies in the UK and sending organisations (mainly CFA) across France. As the business continued to grow and employ staff, I became a manager and trained new team members. I helped them to give the young professionals we were helping the best experience possible. In the last 2 years of my employment with the company I was General Manager, managing a team of 4 people who looked after all the operations in the UK and Ireland.
This experience of living and working in the UK has lasted over 9 years. During this time I have worked alongside hundreds of young professionals from the catering and food service industry, their tutors and the Erasmus coordinators in our host companies and sending partner organisations. I enjoyed meeting all these people and loved being in contact and helping everyone to get the best out of short (2 weeks) or long (6 to 12 months) placements.
The most pleasant thing, and the best reward of our work, was to see the impact that this experience can have on people and the benefits that everyone can get from it (self-confidence, language, open-mindedness, ?). Having gone through this experience, I myself was well placed to understand all the benefits that mobility can have on our person and our career.
Once back in France, I didn't want to move away from this kind of project and this kind of audience. So I decided to create a company offering the same kind of services in France and in 2023, Ohlala Placements was born.
With Ohlala Placements, I want to use my passion for helping as well as my personal and professional experience acquired over the past 13 years. This in order to help the young professionals I accompany to live memorable experiences.
And for those of you who are wondering "but why the name Ohlala Placements?
"Ohlala" was often the first expression used by people I met abroad when I told them I was French. It is an expression clearly identified abroad as typically French. But it is also an expression used to express a feeling of admiration or pleasant surprise. So "Ohlala" is the feeling I would like every participant to have during and after their Erasmus work experience in France with our organisation.
