He single-handedly embodies the spirit of Dany Boon’s French blockbuster comedy Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis about the residents of the North of France. Warm and affectionate, Jean-Marc Ponchau is a man who remains in a good mood even in adversity. “ He’s a real driving force”, say his colleagues at the call centre in the Northern French city of Lille where Jean-Marc arrived in 2008. “ Hands-on and motivated, Jean-Marc is always looking to further improve his skills”, points out his manager Stéphanie Niznik, “and he knows how to go about it. He is blossoming in his job and energises those around him.”

After obtaining an NVQ in carpentry, Jean-Marc Ponchau tried his hand at a number of jobs. Then, in January 1986, his world was turned upside down by a terrible car crash that left him paralysed down his right side. “A hammer blow” that led him to spend two years in hospital and physiotherapy in Zuydcoote. “I was devastated, of course, but I was determined to hang in there. I remember the chief surgeon sending shattered young people in to see me so that I could help cheer them up.”

Although he managed to walk again, Jean-Marc had no choice but to change career direction and enter the service sector. Alternating accountancy training and job experience, Jean-Marc Ponchau obtained a higher diploma in financial accounting (equivalent to a 2-year university degree). Then the HandiFormaBanques training scheme enabled him to spend a year on a work-study course at Societe Generale, giving him a chance at a new career. “With one foot in the banking universe and the prospect of a job at the end of it, I gave it all I had. Technically, it was hard, but my work colleagues helped me and my boss encouraged me.”

Cordless phone, ergonomic chair and a left-orientated workstation: his integration in 2008 didn’t need many adjustments. Since last January, Jean-Marc has been an account manager at the Lille call centre’s Étoile Lion d’Or, where he now uses his sales skills to the full, as his excellent results show. “For us, he’s just like any other member of staff”, insists Philippe Fischer, Head of Human Resources and Logistics, who is very impressed by how far Jean-Marc has come, “ with the same career prospects. It’s this combination of experience and backgrounds that makes the Company what it is".