From qualified people already working in local companies to tomorrow’s professionals studying at local universities, the Lyon area is a tremendous hotbed of talent.

 

An area rich in expertise

Lyon is a major employment area, with 1.3 million jobs in the metropolitan area and one of the lowest unemployment rates in France: 8.6% versus 8.8% nationallly.1

The Lyon area is demographically very dynamic, with 66% of people aged under 45 (versus 57% nationally), and average labour costs 8%-12% lower than in Paris.2

Companies in the Lyon area can also access a skilled labour force: 44% of the working population has a qualification (versus 36% nationally) and 21% have managerial (cadre) status. Indeed, the area is the top destination for managers relocating from the Ile-de-France region.3

Sources: 1 & 4. “The Lyon employment area”, March 2019 ; 2. Insee data - Q4 2018 ; 3. www.guide-des-salaires.com, 2016

Tomorrow’s talent

One hallmark of Lyon is its excellent research and training sector, which ranks second in France after Paris with 180,990 students and is active in all the major disciplines.

 

*(Source: University of Lyon)

 

Close-up on: Refined Minds

In France, 20% of engineering students are trained in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, where 32% of them are hired after graduating. The Lyon area has more than 150 researchers in pure artificial intelligence, with eight dedicated laboratory teams, nine master’s programmes and nine specialisations / majors in this demanding field. More generally, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is France’s top-ranking region by number of engineers (with 96,000) after Ile-de-France.*

*(Source: IESF SURVEY)

 

  • 1,000 courses in many specialities1
  • 5,400 PhD students based at Université de Lyon establishments
  • 2 campuses with international visibility: Lyon Tech la Doua and Charles Mérieux
  • A community of 20 universities, top graduate schools (grandes écoles) and research centres in Lyon and Saint-Étienne
  • 13,300 researchers and teacher-researchers (of whom 1,800 come from outside France)
  • 550 public research laboratories2
  • A website dedicated to students in the area: Lyon Campus

Sources: 1. Lyon key figures 2019; 2. L’Étudiant magazine rankings, 2019-2020