In France, career paths are negotiated not just on the industry level but also within companies. Since the passage in 1982 of the Auroux Laws, which require companies to undertake annual negotiations regarding real wages, real working hours, and the organization of work time, there has been a trend toward creation of individualized career paths. The criteria for career advancement have also changed. Career advancement is no longer based on seniority alone but is instead becoming increasingly dependent on the competencies that individual workers have acquired within their companies. The growing emphasis on employee competencies has increased the importance of continuing education and training and has also increased the importance of experience and versatility among the criteria for advancement. Larger French companies have already begun developing very comprehensive arrangements for individualizing forms of employee advancement and creating a mechanism to recognize competencies acquired through training within the job classification system. At many companies, however, the practice of individualizing career paths coexists with more traditional forms of advancement through seniority. A whole group of evaluation grids must now be created to ensure that employee competencies are based on more objective criteria. (MN)