Way of working

1. A pluridisciplinary team

To accomplish at best its mission of welcoming all types of users, each Cité des Métiers relies on a staff carrying out complementary functions: reception staff and counsellors are in face-to-face contact with the user, back office staff takes charge of logistics or development of partnherships.

To foster responsibility, initiative and team spirit, the organisation is centered around shared projects or objectives, and is more functional and horizontal than hierarchical.

2. An innovative way of working in a territory

The principle of an individualised reception, but with mutual anonymity, is essential to the building of a relation of complete trust with the user who freely comes looking for information, listening and/or counselling.

Within the team, the multi-partnership framework of a Cité des Métiers allows to focus the whole way of working on interpersonal relationship. The opening up and cooperation between people from different institutions is the rule, particularly through the setting up of working groups.

More generally, this way of working requires both a permanent adaptation to the needs of the user and to the constraints of the partners in the territory.

3. Pooling and mutual assistance

Documentary resources and methods are pooled across the international network of the Cités des Métiers, to compare, evaluate, question the practices and foster the emergence of a shared culture.

Within the international network of the Cités des Métiers, practices are compared, evaluated, questioned; documentary resources and methods are pooled. Through this work of sharing and exchanging, a common culture is built. Every year, the Winter School (or winter university) is a privileged time of exchange, fostering the development of innovative common projects and strengthening solidarity. This is made clear as soon as the new Cité gets its label: each new Cité benefits from a “training” and is supported by one or several more experienced Cités des Métiers.