This new technical and interministerial State body, called the “Corps des Ponts, des Eaux et des Forêts” is jointly under the ministry responsible for sustainable development and the ministry responsible for agriculture. 

Functions of the Corps des Ponts, des Eaux et des Forêts

These engineers are involved in the design, development, implementation and evaluation of public policies, in particular in relation to the climate, energy and sustainable town and country planning and development, housing and urban affairs, transport, farmland and forest use, the management and protection of land and sea areas and natural resources, and the food and agribusiness sectors.

Their remit is to manage, support, monitor, inspect, study, assess and evaluate public policies, to teach and conduct research, in international as well as French organisations.Any other missions of a scientific, technical, administrative, economic or social nature may be assigned to them by any minister.

Starting a career in the public sphere

The purpose of the training programme for the Corps des Ponts, des Eaux et des Forêts is thus to prepare student engineers, future senior civil servants with a strong scientific and technical grounding, to begin a career in the public sphere (Government, independent administrative authorities, regional and local authorities, public institutions, public corporations):

• In management and project management functions, or research or expert roles with a high degree of responsibility from the start;
• In public action on sustainable development;
• On multi-agent issues (local, national or international) that may simultaneously involve numerous disciplines (mathematical engineering, construction engineering, life sciences, economics, social and political sciences).

The objective of the training is also to help engineers to expand their career development prospects:

• To all scales:regional, national, European, international;
• To numerous sectors of activity;
• It also aims to help them develop their careers:
• Senior management then senior executive level;
• Researcher then high-level expert or senior executive.

A very wide range of roles  

Whilst the corps has a marked interministerial character, the ministries responsible for sustainable development and agriculture, given the scope of their activity, offer their members a very wide range of roles (transport, planning, environment, energy, food, agriculture) and positions (manager/Project leader, specialist, researcher) in the different structures within these ministries (central level, regional level, specialist services, public institutions).

Many engineers in this group work in other ministries, for example on functions associated with the construction of public buildings (Justice, Higher Education-Research, Culture, Foreign Affairs, Interior, Defence, Health), or in functions of a more markedly economic kind (Economics-Finance-Industry), or else on functions associated with change management, the modernisation of public action, public finances and the national budget (Public Accounts-Budget-Civil Service).

Recruitment

Recruitment is based on exit ranking from the École polytechnique, or on a special examination open to students who:

• Are completing their third or fourth year in a scientific section of an École Normale Supérieure (Ulm, Cachan and Lyon);
• Are in their final year of school preparing for an engineering degree at AgroParisTech;
• Are in their final year of school preparing for a degree issued by other scientific grandes écoles (École des Ponts ParisTech; the specialist agricultural écoles nationales supérieures of Montpellier, Rennes, Nancy, Toulouse; the specialist veterinary écoles nationales).

There are also dedicated examinations (internal examination, external examination based on selection and work experience, aptitude list) through which engineers who already have experience in a government department or are holders of PhDs to join the Corps des Ponts, des Eaux et des Forêts.

Engineers in training in 2011-2012

Description of the training programme

For student engineers from the École polytechnique or the Écoles normales supérieures, the training programme lasts 2 years.

Year 1 leads to an engineering degree from one of the two schools, AgroParisTech or École des Ponts ParisTech.This year covers the scientific and technical issues specific to one or more major areas of activity of the corps:climate, energy demand, planning and sustainable development, housing and urban development, transport, farmland and forest use, the management and protection of land and sea areas and natural resources, and the food and agribusiness sectors. Training in both schools is provided through the “integrated further training” format under existing agreements between the two schools and the École polytechnique.
Where applicable, especially if the student engineer wishes to continue to PhD level, it is possible to follow a specialist Masters programme (M2) at the same time, preferably jointly approved by one of the two schools; certain engineering programme modules can then be approved for the Masters, and vice versa.

Year 2 prepares the student engineer for his or her first position in government service.The student engineers therefore follow the programme of the specialist Masters in “public policies and public action for sustainable development” accredited by the Conférence des grandes écoles.
This basic scheme can be adapted to meet individual career objectives.Student engineers recruited through other avenues follow a single year of training corresponding to the Year 2 described above.The same is true for students successful in the internal examination.

Following Year 2, and possibly before, engineers have the possibility of beginning a doctoral thesis.