Les transformations de l'espace qualification des chercheurs des entreprises

If it is commonly accepted that the innovation is a central dimension of the comparative advantage of the firms, the construction of productive skills forms the other discriminating axis of their efficiency. Accordong to this double point of view, the employees having an activity of R&D in the companies constitute one of the principal factors of their competitiveness. Thus, one understands that a better assesment of the way in which skills of the researchers are built arises as a major stake. It is accordingly that we answered the invitation to tender of « Commissariat Général du Plan » on "the Innovation and the Employment of the researchers" which relates to the processing of the two surveys carried out annually by the MENRT since 1984. First relates to the means devoted to search while the second is concerned with the diplomas and mobilities of the researchers themselves The expectations of the request are altogether informative and analytical. The assumptions carry on two articulated major transformations one to the other : the school explosion in France since 30 years and its involvement on the competition from the point of view of the diplomas ; evolutions of the productive organizations and the emergence of new models of companies which imply a transformation of the relationship between the place of R&D, « industrial space » and « the space of qualification » in the direction of a stronger integration of the activity of search to the other functions of the firm. In addition to the diplomas, the results take into account the size and the sector of the company. They show that between 1984 and 1997, the structures (stocks) of employment of the researchers changed in the direction of an increase in the holders of a doctorate and diplomas Bac+3to5, and of a reduction on behalf of the engineers and the lower titles (£ Bac+2). These evolutions, coupled to a significant rise of manpower, were especially carried out in the Eighties. Moreover, the structures of employment are very dependent on the size of the company, SMF (Small and Medium size Firms : 5000). The evolution of mobilities during the Nineties confirms the increased integration of the space of R&D to industrial space. Thus, the share of the internal market in the manpower mobility outside the R&D function passes from 20% in 1984 to 30% in 1991 and to 51% in 1997 (for the entering, we have respectively 19%, 21% and 26%). These evolutions are very related to the size of the firm : whereas there were few differences in 1984, the internal market in 1997 accounts for 40% of the access and 68% of the departures from R&D in the largest firms (against 16% and 34% for SMF). The positive link between size of the firm, diplomas and careers'opportunities has of course effects on mobilities of the researchers. External mobilities are less and less supplied by the outgoing young people of the education system whereas dismissals for retirement are rather scarce. Mobilities between firms are before all the fact of SMF. These evolutions draw the emergence of various models of innovation partly founded on the importance of the internal labor market of the firm.