#5 - NOVEMBER 2025
Fabienne Arata (SKEMA 1988)
“THERE IS A GENERAL
TREND TOWARDS
mobiliTY”
Surveying the professional network, which brings together 1.2 billion workers across 237 countries around the world, is one way of gauging how far businesses and individuals are integrated into globalisation. And Fabienne Arata (SKEMA 1988), LinkedInâs France Country Manager, sees no sign of a slowdown.
Can LinkedIn be described as a driver of globalisation?
Yes, in the sense that our ambition from the outset has been to provide economic opportunities to every member of the global working population, and to businesses. Our job is to connect professionals with each other and foster their mobility.
From this perspective, are we seeing a slowdown in globalisation?
No: there is a general trend towards mobility, whether national or international, sector-specific or across industries, within or outside companies. Internal mobility has become a major issue for companies. Retention rates are significantly higher when talented employees feel they can benefit from internal mobility opportunities, and this involves a difference of some 15 to 20 points. Artificial intelligence (AI) and data have enabled programmes that human resources departments have wanted to introduce for years. This explains why mobility is now mainly internal to companies: employeesâ willingness to change their job or company in France has fallen by 8 points between last year and today (45%).
So companies are fighting to retain their talents: is this because it is harder to hire new talents?
Over 80% of recruiters believe it is more difficult to find âqualifiedâ applicants than last year, while the market is contracting because the ratio of applicants per vacancy has increased. To stand out, companies are more and more developing a tangible employer brand, and emphasising the quality of the human relationship they maintain with applicants throughout the hiring process.
Especially since they are now âhuntingâ the same key skills.
Yes, the foremost emerging skill that fosters mobility is, of course, AI. Yes, what we call AI literacy, i.e. the ability to prompt, understand the tools and adopt them in one’s daily professional life. France has a fairly significant lead in this area. And then there are behavioural skills, which AI is bringing back to the fore. It enables all types of professionals to free up quality time to spend with their stakeholders and hone their critical thinking skills. The third type of skills that make a difference are green skills. The demand for all skills connected with the green transition is twice as high as the demand for all other recruitment requirements. If you have one or more of these skills, you are twice as likely to be hired.
Which makes skills development a crucial matterâŠ
Absolutely. Nowadays careers are no longer built around one job or company, but on a skills base. And by 2030, 70% of those you possess, whatever your profession, will have been transformed. Skills are becoming outdated at a faster rate. Even if you donât change jobs, your job will change for you. That is why we support businesses and individuals in their development and identity.
â By 2030, 70% of the skills you possess will have been transformed.â
Beyond mobility, professionalsâ connection rate to the world’s leading professional network indicates a form of integration into globalisation. In France, for example, how many working people are on LinkedIn? Are some excluded from the labour market?
90% of the French working population have an account. We represent all levels of seniority and all types of skills, not just those in the higher socioprofessional categories. Four generations work together almost systematically in every company. Our studies also reveal strong expectations regarding intergenerational relations. The two oldest generations believe the two youngest have a lot to teach them. However, there are significant differences between them in terms of expectations and priorities. The same three ingredients come up again and again: f lexibility, work/life balance and salary â but not in the same order.
And you have more and more studentsâŠ
They have understood the need to build a network.
Is networking even more important than before?
That has always been true. But nowadays, if you already have a connection with the company you are applying to, you are four times more likely to be hired. Thatâs really all there is to say about the importance of networking.
âWhen you already have a connection with the company you are applying to, you are four times more likely to be hired.â
However, not everyone has the same opportunities to build a strong networkâŠ
That’s true, in the sense that the first layer of a network is the environment of family and friends in which you grew up. The second component is the school or university from which you graduated. The third is the companies you have worked for. If you have one of these three pillars, you are three times more likely to have a strong network. If you have all three, you are twelve times more likely to succeed. This is really huge, and unfortunately, there is a certain amount of social determinism.
Fabienne Arata
AT A GLANCE
1988
Graduates from SKEMA Business School in Strategy and Marketing
1989
Joins IBM as a business engineer
2002
Creates and directs the Human Capital Management consulting practice at IBM Global Services
2007
General Manage of the IBM subsidiary Anelia
2009
General Manager of Colombus IT
2012
Becomes Brand General Manager for the Manpower Group
2017
Joins LinkedIn as Country Manager France
2019
Appointed member of the Fimalac Board
2022
Is made Chevalier de lâOrdre National du MĂ©rite
2025
Appointed member of the SKEMA Business School Board