Artificial intelligence and its many applications are now part of our lives. From Netflix to ChatGPT via the algorithms of administrations or e-commerce companies, we interact with these technologies on a daily basis. However, companies can testify to it, it is not always easy to recruit professionals specialized in these fields.
It is precisely to deal with the growing scarcity of skills in these professions that La Poste inaugurated the first class of its Data and AI School on Thursday 9 March. The icing on the cake, with 51 candidates, the public group managed to achieve its parity objective this year when it was initially planned within five years.
Nathalie Collin, General Manager of the Consumer and Digital branch of the La Poste group, was delighted with this success: “The place of women in the digital world is a subject that is particularly close to my heart. I consider that there are too few women in the digital sector. (…) The acceleration of the digitization of society represents an incredible opportunity for women to participate in the construction of the digital world to come”.
It should be noted that the target audiences sought in this training are students with a first post-baccalaureate experience, or retraining candidates identified within the framework of partnerships. Moreover, 7 students of this first promotion were registered with Pôle Emploi.
Practical training on data and AI
The objective of La Poste is clearly displayed, and it is a question of training up to 250 candidates per year in the next three years on professions with highly sought-after skills, namely: data product owner, data analyst, data engineer and data scientist.
Students will therefore benefit from a qualifying course for a period of 3 to 12 months. Some are external candidates, and others are already employees of the company.
For this first promotion, profiles from outside often have a first experience in the digital field and want to develop new skills. As for the employees of La Poste who join the adventure, they come from various professions, and in particular HR, management, or even IT.
Official launch of the School of #data and of the#IA.⁰ Based on 2 values: the#ethics and the#inclusion. The objective is to train up to 250 candidates per year over the next 3 years in 4 key professions: data product owner, data analyst, data engineer and data scientist ???? pic.twitter.com/TlnMzoZ2rV
— Collin Nathalie (@nathqueencole) March 9, 2023
They have come to the right place since the School of Data and AI wants its students to acquire operational skills. Thus, external candidates will follow a work-study course within Openvalue, a subsidiary of the La Poste group specializing in AI. Internal candidates will have access to personalized training and assignments to be carried out within the company.
An ethical approach to AI
The emergence of artificial intelligence technologies is not without risks. One thinks in particular of the abuses linked to surveillance. Faithful to its humanist and inclusive vision of digital, the La Poste group wants to transmit its values to candidates.
Matching actions to words, the School therefore offers courses in ethical AI to its students. They address very concrete themes, in particular those related to the use of personal data and future regulations concerning these innovations.
Training is provided by AI experts. To do this, La Poste relies on its internal talents, in particular via its subsidiaries Docaposte, Openvalue, Softeam and Probayes. But the school also opens outwards with partners such as the Simplon startup or the Hetic school.
La Poste looks to the future
With this school, La Poste is looking to the future. The public group already has one of the largest data and AI centers in France with 450 experts. The idea is to double the workforce by 2025, and this school will therefore serve the company’s ambitions to remain a benchmark in trusted digital services.
It is interesting to note that La Poste’s pool of experts already includes data analysts, data scientists and data engineers. The idea is to showcase various areas of AI: Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Natural Language Processing (NLP), and Computer Vision.
During the launch of this division, Olivier Vallet, CEO of Docaposte, explained: “Thanks to this expertise in ethical and responsible AI, we will be able to offer our customers innovative and sovereign solutions in line with the values of La Poste”.
