EPED, l'École de Production des métiers du bois

What EPED, l'École de Production des métiers du bois does

EPED (l'École de Production des métiers du bois) is a French non-profit vocational training school constituted as an association loi 1901, founded in 2012 and headquartered in Quiévrechain in the Hauts-de-France region. It operates as a "production school" — a recognized pedagogical model in which students learn a trade by producing real commercial work for real clients. The school trains learners aged 15 to 18 in two state-recognized trades, delivering the CAP Menuisier Fabricant (woodworking manufacturer) and CAP Charpentier (carpentry/roofing) diplomas, with cohorts capped at 12 students per promotion.

The school's revenue model blends four streams: (1) public funding tied to its status as a credentialed école de production; (2) apprenticeship tax receipts; (3) revenue from commercial production orders fulfilled by students in the workshop, historically running at 20–30 projects per year for professionals, individuals, and communes; and (4) structured corporate memberships via the BatiMorphose professional club, priced from €4,900/year, which anchors recurring engagement with corporate partners. EPED is a member of the FNEP (Fédération Nationale des Écoles de Production), the national federation of 40+ production schools in France, and counts among its supporters a diverse roster of corporate foundations and major groups including Vinci, Renault, TotalEnergies, and Nexity.

Operationally, EPED runs from a single physical workshop with a small staff of 5 employees and has no disclosed digital platform, technology stack, or AI/ML capability. Recent strategic activity has been incremental rather than transformational: a June 2025 website relaunch, entry into the PERSEVERE project partnership in 2024, and continued development of the BatiMorphose membership offering. The organization functions as a labor-intensive educational workshop whose competitive position rests on regulatory authorization, master-craftsperson talent, and FNEP network affiliation rather than on technology differentiation or scale economies.

Name

EPED, l'École de Production des métiers du bois

Legal name

Ecole de Production Environnement Durable (EPED)

Website

https://eped.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

EPED is a French non-profit production school in Quiévrechain that trains 15-18-year-olds in woodworking trades (CAP diplomas) through real commercial workshop work, funded by public subsidies, apprenticeship tax, client production orders, and the BatiMorphose corporate club.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Vocational Wood Trade Education

NAICS

Technical and Trade Schools (61151), Technical and Trade Schools (6115)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Charter Career & Technical Education (CTE) Schools (EDAJACAK)

Keywords

• Vocational wood training
• Carpentry education
• Cabinetmaking training
• Custom wood fabrication
• Production school pedagogy

Headquarters

HQ city

Quiévrechain

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Client production orders: Revenue generated from fabricating custom wood products for clients including professionals, individuals, communes, associations, and architects. Products include timber framing, interior fittings, Tiny Houses, modules, kitchens, staircases, flooring, furniture, and facade structures.
2. Membership fees - BatiMorphose club: Companies and institutions can join the BatiMorphose club (from 4,900 EUR/year, partially tax-deductible) to support the school's development and access a network of committed actors in sustainable building.
3. Apprenticeship tax (Taxe d'apprentissage): Companies can direct their apprenticeship tax contributions to EPED (UAI: 0596949H) to support quality training for youth.
4. Public funding: Co-funded by the Hauts-de-France Region, DREETS HDF, and the European Union (PERSEVERE project), with support from various foundations and organizations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

EPED is a French production school (École de Production) offering CAP vocational diplomas in wood trades, specifically CAP Charpentier (Carpentry – Construction Bois) and CAP Menuisier Fabricant (Cabinetmaking – Aménagement intérieur). Students learn through hands-on production, fulfilling real client orders in professional workshops as part of an alternative 'learning by doing' (apprendre en faisant) pedagogy aimed at youth disengaged from traditional schooling.

Product overview

EPED is an alternative pedagogy school offering two CAP (Certificate of Professional Aptitude) diplomas in wood trades: CAP Menuisier Fabricant (Manufacturing Carpenter) and CAP Charpentier (Carpenter). The school operates with a maximum of 12 students per class and uses a 'learning by doing' approach where students spend 2/3 of their time in workshops working on real client projects. Programs include practical skills training (24 hours/week workshop), theoretical teaching (11 hours/week general subjects), and professional integration support. The school also offers a custom wood project fabrication service for external clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CAP Charpentier – Construction Bois

Quantifiable outcome

• 90%+ diploma success rate among students
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• FNEP (Fédération Nationale des Ecoles de Production)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012EPED is a member of the FNEP federation, which brings together over 40 production schools in France. FNEP provides the pedagogical framework, network support, and national recognition for the production school model. The federation publishes collective statistics (90% diploma success, 100% employability) that EPED references.
• Education Nationale (Colleges, CIO, MLDS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the national education system including middle schools, Information and Orientation Centers, and School Dropout Prevention Missions to identify and refer suitable youth candidates for EPED's alternative training program.
• BatiMorphose ClubmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerBatiMorphose is a club of committed actors in sustainable building. Companies, institutions, and foundations in the territory can join (from 4,900 EUR/year, partially tax-deductible) to support EPED's development and activate societal impact in building sector transformation.
• Florent VANHOVE (EPICC)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerFlorent VANHOVE, administrator of EPICC (another production school in the North), provided expertise in communication and acquisition for the development of EPED's new website.
• ICAM (Institut Catholique d'Arts et Métiers)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngineering school providing partnership support, visible in logo section.
• Caritas FranceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCatholic charitable organization supporting social integration and training programs.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• AFPA (Agence nationale pour la formation professionnelle des adultes): France's leading public adult and continuing vocational training network. AFPA offers comparable CAP-level vocational certifications across multiple trades (including woodworking) at much larger scale, with regional Hauts-de-France centers; comparable funding model (publicly subsidized) and target population overlap.
• FNEP (Fédération Nationale des Écoles de Production): The national federation of 40+ French production schools. EPED is a member and benefits from FNEP's shared pedagogical framework, national statistics, and collective brand, making it the umbrella organization most directly comparable in model even though not a single operating school.
• GRETA (GRoupements d'ETAblissements): National network of public continuing-education centers attached to French high schools, offering CAP and other vocational certifications including in wood trades. Comparable publicly funded training model and CAP credential, though typically delivered in traditional classroom rather than production-workshop format.
• Fondation Apprentis d'Auteuil: Major French foundation providing alternative education and vocational training pathways for at-risk youth, including wood and construction trades. Comparable social mission serving disengaged youth, though operates through a wider portfolio of programs rather than a single production-school workshop.

Direct peers

• Compagnons du Devoir: Historic French trades guild offering apprenticeship-style training in wood and other manual trades through a 'Tour de France' journeyman model. Comparable focus on professional mastery and behavioral competencies, though targeting a slightly older and more self-selected demographic.
• EPICC (École de Production Industrielle de Cambrai): Another FNEP federation production school in the Nord/Hauts-de-France region, also operating a learning-by-doing workshop model. Directly comparable organizational structure, pedagogy, and target population; Florent Vanhove (EPICC administrator) is even an active advisor to EPED's communications.

Regional players

• CIFAP (Centre de formation des apprentis de la menuiserie): Woodworking-focused apprenticeship training center offering CAP menuisier programs in northern France. Comparable trade specialization and CAP credentialing but uses the standard CFA apprenticeship model rather than EPED's production-school pedagogy.
• École de Production de Lyon (EDPL): FNEP member production school based in Lyon offering workshop-based training in wood trades. Comparable production-school model and pedagogy, but operating in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes rather than Hauts-de-France and thus serving a different geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/eped

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about EPED, l'École de Production des métiers du bois