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Personal Training Account
Policy Instrument
Personal Training Account

Description
Timespan
2014 - present
Stage
Focus area
Foundations
Policy area
The Compte Personnel de Formation is an individual right for every member of the active population.
Policy goal
The goal is to concretely apply the right to lifelong learning by enhancing access to training, independent of the employment record or situation. This instrument enables the accumulation of credits for the right to training for every individual since his/her entrance into the labour market. The account is entirely transferable from one occupation to another, and preserved when changing or losing one’s job.
Mismatch
Training courses financed through Personal Training Account have to lead to certifications chosen by sectoral social partners or to national diplomas. In each sector, the choice of available certifications was made by the social partners in line with skills needs in companies.
Aim of policy instrument
Legal basis
Administrative level
Main responsible body
Ministry of Labour
Stakeholders
PES Pôle emploi: the counsellors are in charge of activating the jobseekers CPF
Sectoral mutual funds for training named OPCA: they have to add some financing to the individual CPF
Regional councils
Funding
The training sessions paid through the Personal Training Account are financed by a compulsory tax paid by each company (0.2% of the total wages for companies above 10 employees). This could be completed by the PES funds, the Regional councils and the mutual training funds (OPCA).
Intended beneficiaries
Lifelong learning for adults (the CPF is a universal right). Each member of the active population could benefit.
Processes
Use of labour market intelligence
The results from PMQ and now REC, Sectoral skills monitoring centres and Regional skills monitoring centres are used to determine what certifications (diplomas, vocational titles…) could be obtained by a CPF training session.
Financial schemes
The CPF for employees and jobseekers are financed through a mutualized tax paid by each company. Every person could obtain 24 training hours each year under a limit of 150 hours. For financing longer training sessions, other stakeholders could be mobilized.
Frequency of updates
Every 3 years.
Development
It will be improved in 2018. A new agreement between social partners started at the end of November 2017 and a new law about adult education will be passed in March 2018. The French government wants to obtain a more simple and transparent scheme, with less multiple financing.
Success factors
The PES counsellor and other professional counsellors are highly involved in the implementation.
Monitoring
The indicators monitored: the share of jobseekers/employees; the qualification levels, the training sessions and certifications chosen by the beneficiaries, the impact on employment for jobseekers, the impact on mobility for employees, the differences between regions.
Innovativeness
The innovation is to give individual initiatives through a universal scheme available for employees, jobseekers, self-employed, whatever their status. Another innovative feature is to develop a training session chosen through an agreement between an employee and his manager or company responsible.
Sustainability
Evidence of effectiveness
A national Report (CNEFOP) was published in July 2017 for the years 2015 and 2016: 1,000,000 training sessions were accepted (650,000 for the jobseekers and 360,000 for the employees being in employment).
Engagement of stakeholders
This will depending on the new training system reform that will take place in 2018. The Ministry for Work and Employment is fully involved in following the CPF development. Every year a national report is produced through the National Council for Employment, Training and Orientation (CNEFOP) that encompasses all the stakeholders: Government, Social Partners, Regional Councils and the main public providers among them, Pôle emploi.
Transferability
The principle of individual initiatives and a strong follow-up could be transferred to another country, but the implementation would be very different depending on the past scheme in each country.
Sustainability
Yes, because the different stakeholders share the opinion that participation in ALMPs have to be based on personal initiative within a collective framework.