Acta Vista’s mission is to "Use stones to reveal human talent". Every day, its teams use the restoration of historic buildings to help people who have lost touch with the labour market to get back into work and train for jobs restoring old buildings.
Acta Vista’s mission is based on three observations. First, some people are very far removed from the labour market and have poor social and professional skills. Second, many traditional skills and crafts are being lost. And finally, more than 10,000 historic monuments are in danger in France and need to be restored.
In response to this, Acta Vista has chosen to entrust the restoration of historic buildings to people out of touch with the labour market, who are often vulnerable, to help them stabilise their personal situation and build a professional future through manual work and with the support of the community.
Acta Vista recruits, trains and guides 500 people into employment every year, while restoring the buildings entrusted to it in accordance with best practice.
The project supported by the Audemars Piguet Foundation for Common Good will enable around 300 vulnerable young people to be trained and helped into employment. They will work on the restoration of Fort Saint-Nicolas, a listed 17th century monument in Marseille's Old Port. This is the largest integration and training site for heritage professions in France.
The restoration work carried out by the trainees will contribute to the gradual opening to the public of this major new cultural venue in the heart of Marseille. The training will cover three areas of expertise related to historic buildings: masonry, joinery and metalwork.
The project will also enable thousands of young people from social centres and schools to discover Acta Vista’s worksites and trades free of charge. Like the integration projects, these cultural missions are based on manual skills and working together. The aim is to encourage young people to take up careers in manual trades.
The project aims to ensure that two out of three participants will find a job or further training at the end of their course and that nine out of ten participants sitting exams will obtain a qualification.
