Garbologist engineer apprenticeship (waste)

The ENGEES engineering degree, focusing on the profession of ‘garbologist’, can be obtained through an apprenticeship.

Waste management is an increasingly important issue in modern society, due to the constant increase in the quantity and diversity of waste, growing environmental demands and the health and technological risks associated with it.

This course is designed to train future ENGEES engineers not only in the fields of water and environmental management, but also in municipal and industrial waste management, and covers the various treatment, recovery (material, agronomic, energy) and disposal processes, with particular emphasis on the relationship between waste management (from production through recovery to disposal) and its environmental impact. The technical, legal and socio-economic aspects of the problem are presented, taking into account the role of the various players involved.

In this context, during the 3 years of study at the ENGEES engineering school, the apprentice student alternates periods of teaching at the school and professional periods in a company. The course has the same core academic knowledge as the student programme. The engineering students form a single class, and have many courses in common.

Doing an apprenticeship at an engineering school is a guarantee that you will be able to apply the theoretical and practical knowledge you learn at school directly in a practical, professional setting. 

Objectives of the programme

The special feature of this course is that it offers comprehensive training, from the first year of the apprenticeship, in all aspects of the Circular Economy, Sustainable Development, the Environment and facility management, with a multi-disciplinary approach focusing on waste typology, project management, waste treatment, sorting, recovery or elimination facilities, new waste treatment techniques and methods, facility sizing, economics, costs, etc...  

The ultimate aim is to enable our students to obtain a comprehensive skill set in the environment and waste, which will enable them to enter working life and start a career in the environment and sustainable development sector.  

This is why ENGEES allows its apprentices to follow all of its apprenticeship programmes at a pace adapted to the business world.

Apprentices gain extensive experience before graduating. They have solid professional experience, making it easier for them to find a job quickly. This training provides a systemic vision of sustainable development, giving companies a skilled apprentice who can respond quickly and easily to the needs of companies in the field.

Teaching content specific to the ‘waste’ programme

The waste programme provides students with training throughout the 3-year course, enabling them to acquire a basic understanding of the issues involved in waste management:

• Regulations, role of the various players involved in France and Europe
• Types of waste
• Waste collection and sorting
• Treatment and disposal: composting, methanisation, incineration, landfill
• Recycling, energy recovery, agronomic recovery
• Circular economy
• Sizing of different waste treatment facilities
• Case studies

At the same time, the apprentice follows the entire ‘classic’ ENGEES engineering apprenticeship programme: basic engineering sciences, river hydraulics, water treatment, drinking water and wastewater networks, etc. 

Full engineering course programme

Teaching methods :

The basics of ‘waste’ issues are covered in lectures and practical sessions, supplemented by :

• field visits (hazardous or non-hazardous waste storage centres, multi-filter household waste management centres, sorting centres, waste collection centres, waste incineration plants, recycling plants, composting and methanisation centres, etc.);
• presentations by industry professionals;
• participation in trade fairs and exhibitions related to the environment and waste;
• more applied case study work (in groups) is offered to students, based on data on waste and the facilities suited to its treatment, using tools learnt during the course, choosing a process to set up in a given context and sizing the facilities, etc.

During the three-year apprenticeship, the apprentice engineer will deepen his or her theoretical, technical and practical knowledge of the environment, leading to a career as an environmental engineer, the use of tools dedicated to industrial ecology and eco-design, process control, sustainable development management, the circular economy and careers as an environmental manager.

All apprentices enrolled on this course will continue their training over a 3-year period, which will include fundamental courses in waste regulations and policy, specialised environmental courses, treatment processes and techniques, as well as professional tools and projects.

In the company, the apprentice works on increasingly important assignments, gaining autonomy to become an engineer fully responsible for the choices he makes.

The apprentice's supervisor accompanies and monitors his or her progress, and the educational tutor gives advice throughout the course.

The end-of-studiy work, which marks the culmination of the training, enables the apprentice to carry out a methodological and technical project. It demonstrates an understanding of the issues involved in sustainable development, processes and project management, applied to a major project for the company.

The advantages:

The programme for this apprenticeship-based garbology engineering course offers a number of exceptional advantages:

• a teaching staff made up of high-level experts in the world of the environment and waste,
• a number of partner companies involved in our students' studies, projects and placements,
• qualified lecturers with extensive professional experience in the field,
• international academic partners for university exchanges,
• and a highly enriching community and cultural life 

It is an excellent complement to the training provided to help students adapt to the requirements of employers in the field. It gives you a better understanding of the profession, gives you numerous contacts with professionals in the sector, and enables you to identify and be identified by companies.