Rennes Atalante Science and Technology Park : 761 new jobs created in 2011 by companies

Rennes Atalante Science and Technology Park : 761 new jobs created in 2011 by companies

(de g. à d. : Gwénaële Hamon, vice-présidente de Rennes Métropole déléguée au développement économique et à l’emploi, Claude Labit, président de Rennes Atalante, Catherine Beaty, responsable Emploi à Orange Business Services Rennes, Jean-Luc Godard, responsable People development et des relations sociales à l’international pour Orange Business Services et Gilles Guilgué, vice-président Services d’Envivio)

Rennes Atalante recently collated the results of its 2011 Employment Survey conducted among companies in the Park. It questioned 303 technology companies that are either located on Rennes Atalante sites or are members of Rennes Atalante but operating from non-park locations.

These 303 companies employed 17 903 people at the end of October 2011.

Between October 2010 and October 2011, the companies in Rennes Atalante created 1 197 jobs. Over the same period, 436 jobs were lost. This means that Rennes Atalante’s companies generated a positive result, with 761 new jobs created in 2011 (513 in 2010), an increase in employment of 4.44% (3.07% in 2009).

The 16 companies were set up, generating 38 jobs.

The founders of fifteen of them are being assisted by Rennes Atalante, four through the Emergys business incubator. Most of these companies work from premises for start-ups or business incubators. Six of them operate from Rennes Métropole business incubators, five from the Télécom Bretagne college and two from premises belonging to Saint-Malo Agglomération. The Rennes Atalante survey conducted every year at the same time reflects developments in jobs within the technology companies in Ille-et-Vilaine, which employ mainly engineers and executive grade staff.

>> Job creation by sector of activity

The Information Technologies sector, which accounts for 75% of jobs in the companies surveyed, showed an increase of 5% (+ 640 jobs). The health sector, accounting for 5% of jobs, showed a 2.6% increase (+ 23 jobs). The agricultural/organic/environment sector, which represents 5% of jobs, showed an increase of 1.1% (+ 10 jobs).

Digital technology, a sector of major importance for the Park, is boosting employment
Companies in the digital sector account for 75% of jobs in the Park and represented 84% of growth in employment in 2011 by creating 640 new jobs. The contribution of entities within Orange Business Services was particularly strong – they recruited an additional 200 employees, taking the number of staff in the Rennes Atalante Park to more than 2,000.
For players in the ICT sector, business included a number of major projects to develop information systems and the creation of new offers from telcos, with the expansion of products and services to put them in a more competitive position given the imminent arrival of Free in the mobile market.
The success of smartphones is also generating business for companies in Rennes, many of which are developing mobile apps and web portals. The market for digital TV is undergoing constant change and is full of potential for many companies in the Park.
However, company executives in the Park are complaining about the lack of job applicants trained in the use of computing. The staff most commonly sought are engineering graduates and people with 5 to 10 or 10 to 15 years’ experience. Some companies are also looking for technicians (2 or 3 years’ higher education), a level of training that is deemed to be too little developed in France in the computing sector.

>> Changes in employment in companies
between October 2010 and October 2011:

>> 50% of companies questioned had experienced an increase in staffing levels (47% in 2010),
>> 32% had stable staffing levels (31% in 2010),
>> 18% had a drop in staff (22% in 2010).

>> Head offices or branches
71% of the companies surveyed had their head offices in Ille-et-Vilaine. On average, they employed 29 people and accounted for 34% of jobs. 29% of the companies were branches, with the head office located elsewhere in France. On average, they employed 136 people and accounted for 66% of jobs.

>> Size of companies
The companies surveyed have an average staff of 61 but 44 companies employ more than 100 people. Of these, 19 employ more than 250 people, including 7 with more than 500 employees.

Claude Labit, président de Rennes Atalante
The 2011 employment survey conducted by Rennes Atalante confirmed the trend observed in 2010 with an upturn in job numbers in companies in the Park. Employment in the ICT sector is much stronger in areas such as software programming, design and maintenance of large computer systems, facilities management and the increased use of ICT in industrial companies. This means that Rennes is strengthening its position in the digital sector in France. I should like to see a continuation of crossovers between economic sectors involving ICT and the development of new uses that serve all sectors of business. To achieve this, it is essential for Rennes to pursue its focus on training and research in these strategic sectors to supply the local economy with highly-qualified human resources and innovations. This is also one of the factors that makes our area so attractive to companies. We are counting on significant developments in the fields of biotechnology, health and agronomy/environment in Rennes and Saint-Malo, through close ties with scientific research, a sector that is undergoing significant change at the present time.