I'm Jérôme Gerbaud, a native of Loire Atlantique and founder and manager of Ohlala Placements.
For this first article in our blog, I'd 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 (as many do) 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 side of the mobility schemes organised by the CFA, from which some of these apprentices benefited. Seeing the feedback from young people who were delighted with their experience abroad aroused my curiosity. So, when I graduated from my SME Management Assistant BTS, I seized the opportunity to go abroad myself for 6 months. To do this, I found a work placement with an intermediary organisation based in Nottingham, in the 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. It wasn't easy every day at first, but I really enjoyed learning, discovering and meeting new people. The 6 months went by very quickly and the placement went very well. Once it was over, I decided not to go back to France - instead, I wanted to stay in England so that I could continue to explore more of the country. I still had too many things to learn, moments to experience and beautiful people to meet over there.
The company offered me a job and I became their first employee. From then on and over the next few 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 get settled 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 more staff, I became a manager and trained new members of the team. I helped them to give the young professionals we were helping the best possible experience. For the last 2 years of my employment with the company, I was General Manager, managing a team of 4 people who looked after all operations in the UK and Ireland.
This experience of living and working in the UK lasted over 9 years. During that time, I've worked alongside hundreds of young professionals from the catering and food industry, their tutors and the Erasmus coordinators at our host companies and partner sending organisations. I enjoyed meeting all these people and loved being in contact with them and helping everyone to get the best out of their short (2 weeks) or long-term (6 to 12 months) placements.
The most enjoyable thing, and the best reward for our work, was to see the impact that this experience can have on people and the benefits that everyone can draw from it (self-confidence, language, open-mindedness, etc.). Having gone through this experience myself, I was well placed to understand all the benefits that mobility can have on our person and our career.
Once I was back in France, I didn't want to move away from this type of project and this type of audience. So I decided to set up a company offering the same type of service in France and in 2023, Ohlala Placements was born.
With Ohlala Placements, I want to put my passion for helping and my personal and professional experience gained over the last 13 years to good use. My aim is to help the young professionals I work with have memorable experiences.
And for those of you wondering "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's an expression clearly identified abroad as typically French. But it's also an expression used to express a feeling of admiration or pleasant surprise. So "Ohlala" is the feeling I'd like every participant to have during and at the end of their Erasmus work experience in France with our organisation.
