Manon Hap – launching a great career

Manon Hap for Syngenia
Manon Hap joining Tractebel Engineering for a new mission in electricity and gas

Freshly graduated from the UCL, Manon Hap studied as a civil engineer in electromechanics, with energy as her specialism.  She is rounding off her first contract with Tecnubel, at their headquarters in Dessel, before joining Tractebel Engineering for a new mission in electricity and gas. A fresh challenge, on a Syngenia contract again, for a young recruit who is going places.

– Manon, Syngenia got you started in the world of work. Tell us how it all began.

I started in November 2014 at Tecnubel, on a Syngenia contract. It was my first job. I was lucky enough to get on a training course on nuclear safety. Safety issues are right at the top of the agenda. You can’t leave anything to chance.

What was your mission at Tecnubel?

My mission at Tecnubel stemmed from an outside client’s request to reinstall, at another site, a nuclear fuel pellet production line that had been dismantled a while back. It wouldn’t have taken much to convince me to head off to France and China for that project. What a challenge for a young engineer like me! But in the end, the project was postponed.

So then, as technical support engineer, I assisted the Project Manager of Tecnubel in the organization and follow-up of the project, consisting of general decontamination and dismantling activities at the FBFCi site, a subsidiary of Areva, which is a nuclear fuel fabrication facility in dismantling phase.

– Your next mission is already scheduled. What will it be?

This time, I’ll be working as an implementation engineer for Tractebel Engineering, on high and low voltage electricity transmission lines. So I’ll be changing sectors, from nuclear to electricity. I’m looking forward to discovering another field in practice.

– Do you see any advantages in working as a consultant?

Absolutely! It’s an opportunity to get to know several different trades within your sphere of competence. And you get the chance to manage a project from start to finish. But you’re still part of a group, with all the possibilities that offers in terms of career mobility.

–  You like travelling, it seems…
Yes. From September 2013 to August 2014, I travelled around Latin America. First I learnt Spanish. Then I did voluntary work in Peru, in an after-school centre for children in difficulty. Then I set off round Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina… I even took a boat down the Amazon. Now I’m hoping to make even more discoveries, thanks to my work.

– So you’re a bit of an idealist?

Yes. I’ve always liked being totally committed to whatever I’m doing. When I was a student, I lived in “project digs” in Louvain-la-Neuve – the “Human Rights” digs that ran projects for homeless people and refugees. Being fully involved in what I do – that’s what I’m all about, whether in my private life or at work. I think that’s what Syngenia looks for in the engineers it recruits.