Compétences individuelles et employabilité : essai de clarification de leur articulation

If employability is nowadays recognized as a major objective of human resources management (HRM), its operationalization and integration into practices remains a field of research in construction. Competence management is one of the main levers of this HRM oriented employability. Nevertheless, very few and recent studies to our knowledge address both competencies and employability (Van Der Heijde et al., 2006 ; Wittekind et al., 2010 ; Dietrich, 2010 ; Baruel-Bencherqui et al., 2011 ; De Vos et al., 2011 ; Raoult et al., 2011). This paper aims to investigate and clarify the relationships between these two key concepts in HRM, offering answers to the following question: How are competence management and employability articulated? From a literature review on competence management on the one hand, employability on the other hand, then cross, we propose three levels of articulation. First, the conceptual articulation is based on the theoretical framework of organizational dynamic capabilities. We suggest the "adaptative capability" as a constituent competence of employability. Second, from a practical point of view, the articulation between competencies and employability is concretized through the "GPEC agreements" (occupations and competencies forecast management). These agreements offer the necessary framework for the development of assessment, training, and mobility practices. Third, we propose a critical articulation from a discussion of the implementation of shared responsibility for competence management and employability, as well as the development of HR communication (employer branding and self-marketing).