Schneider Electric received the "Support to business creation" trophy awarded by IMS – Entreprendre dans la Cité for its project “Creating your own company in the electrical professions”.

In total, six trophies in several categories were awarded by Fadela Amara, French Secretary of State for Urban Policy and Claude Bébéar, President of IMS – Entreprendre pour la Cité, on the occasion of the day for “Acting and recruiting in the suburbs”, Wednesday 22 October 2008. The aim is to recognize the most dynamic companies in their actions to support employment of residents of deprived urban areas.

Set up one year ago, Schneider Electric’s project ”Creating your own company in the electrical professions”, the fruit of a partnership with the ADIE (Association pour le Droit à l’Initiative Economique – Association for the right to economic initiatives), is the expression of a threefold ambition:

• allow persons far from the professional environment, sometimes since many years, to create their own job in a growth sector
• contribute to the local economic life
• promote electrical professions

This project targets persons that want to create a company or develop a project and which do not have access to bank loans, in particular unemployed people but also persons on social benefit or with unstable jobs.

Schneider Electric is actively involved in the main steps of a company creation project:

• through its association Schneider Electric Initiatives Emploi, during the market study and the definition of the business plan, and also during project follow-up
• through its Sales Department, which offers a “creator pack” comprising dedicated technical- and sales-support tools

“This project has led to the creation of over 20 companies in electrical professions over the last year, explained Gilles Vermot-Desroches, Director Sustainable Development and Schneider Electric Foundation. It is the perfect illustration of an innovative partnership created between company managers and players in the field. This initiative once again demonstrates Schneider Electric’s commitment to facilitating access to sustainable employment for those deprived of such access”.

Schneider Electric has placed energy access at the heart of its societal responsibilities and is developing the internal program BipBop, which aims at closer convergence between business, responsibility and innovation. The initiative “Creating your own company in the electrical professions” contributes to the success of the BipBop program.

About Schneider Electric
As a global specialist in energy management with operations in more than 100 countries, Schneider Electric offers integrated solutions across multiple market segments, including leadership positions in energy and infrastructure, industrial processes, building automation, and data centres/networks, as well as a broad presence in residential applications. Focused on making energy safe, reliable, and efficient, the company's 120,000 employees achieved sales of more than 17.3 billion euros in 2007, through an active commitment to help individuals and organisations “Make the most of their energy™”.
www.schneider-electric.com

Courtesy of Schneider Electric