Meet Cedric Dehan

After working in the mining industry in France, Cedric Dehan was looking for a new career opportunity and a change of pace for him and his family. When the opportunity arose to join our Beca New Caledonia team, he jumped at the chance. Find out what life is like working in the French-speaking archipelago in the heart of the South Pacific.

1. What attracted you to Beca? 

After working for 18 months for a mining company, I knew that I wanted to go back to my initial passion of engineering. It was during this time that I had the opportunity to work with people from Beca several times, I was immediately drawn to the values of the company. When the opportunity came up to join the Beca team in New Caledonia, I thought it would be an exciting opportunity for my family, and to work for a company with great values.

Après avoir travaillé 18 mois pour  une société d’exploitation minière, je savais par-dessus tout que je voulais revenir vers mes aspirations initiales : l’ingénierie. Au cours de cette dernière expérience, j’ai eu l’occasion de travailler plusieurs fois avec des employés de Beca qui ont attiré mon attention sur les valeurs de l’entreprise. Quand l’opportunité s’est présentée, j’ai choisi d’intégrer une petite famille avec des grandes valeurs : Beca New Caledonia.

2. What factors did you weigh up when considering your move to Beca's Noumea office?

On the one hand, I wanted to get involved in an engineering company and reap the benefits working for a large Asia-Pacific company. And on the other hand, it was important to me to work on exciting and attractive projects. Previously I mainly worked on large projects (> 500MUS) as an engineering lead with responsibilities limited to my engineering field. Today at Beca, I am responsible for a range of smaller and more diverse projects (<10 MUS) at any one time, which means I get to use a wide variety of knowledge.

D’une part, je souhaitais m’engager dans une entreprise d’ingénierie structurée et bénéficier du savoir-faire d’un grand groupe. D’autre part-il m’importait de m’engager dans un projet attractif. J’avais principalement travaillé sur des gros projets (>500MUS) en tant qu’ingénieur leader avec des responsabilités limitées à mon expertise. Aujourd’hui je suis responsable des nombreux projets de taille plus réduite (<10 MUS) mais que je dois piloter en parallèle tout en faisant appel à des connaissances très variées.

3. What opportunities do you see in the region? 

New Caledonia is a small French-speaking archipelago (group of islands) in the South Pacific. However, this white beach paradise is 16,811km from France which means it can be difficult to attract qualified people. The job market in New Caledonia is very dynamic and there are lots of work opportunities. So, if you are looking for a change of scenery, or to reinvent yourself, this is the perfect place to do it.

La Nouvelle-Calédonie est un petit archipel qui de par sa distance à la France a du mal a attiré des personnes qualifiées. Le marché de l’emploi y est pourtant très dynamique et les opportunités ne manquent pas. Si vous souhaitez changer d’air, vous reconvertir, monter votre business : il n’y a qu’un pas à faire.

4. What gets you out of bed every morning? 

Usually it’s my three year-old son asking me for his bottle of milk! The opportunity to combine work and family life is one of the reasons why I chose to join Beca six months ago.

Mon fils, 3 ans, qui vient me réclamer son biberon de lait…Si j’ai rejoint Beca il y a six mois c’est aussi pour avoir la chance de pouvoir concilier travail et vie de famille.

5. How does the work you do ‘make everyday better’ for our clients and communities? 

One of our clients is one of the main employers of the island, they have set very strong profitability targets for the future. This has created a significant number of projects and strong pipeline of work. Once completed, these projects will enrich the community for New Caledonians and create lots of work for people in the area.

Mon client, l’un des principaux employeurs de l’île, s’est fixé des objectifs de rentabilité très forts à horizon 2020. L’atteinte de ces objectifs au travers des projets qui me sont conférés, permettra à l’entreprise d’être profitable demain et préserver l’emploi des communautés.

6. What advice would you give to graduates or (other) developing professionals? 

Whether you are a recent graduate or looking for a change, the most important thing is to choose a company that will help you to grow and extend yourself. A key part of that is a supportive manager and team who will help you to develop your skills and share their expertise.

Que vous soyez jeune diplômé ou en quête d’une reconversion, le plus important est de bien choisir la société dans laquelle vous allez évoluer. La clef de la réussite : un management qui vous aidera à développer vos compétences et des collègues qui sauront partager leur savoir-faire. 

7. What does the next 12 months hold for you? 

My priority is to help my client work towards becoming a profitable business in the next few years. I will also be supporting our Beca leaders to continue developing our business in New Caledonia.

Ma priorité est d’aider mon client à préparer la transition vers une entreprise rentable en 2020. As a secondary objective, support Beca to develop the business in New Caledonia.