Professional Learning: Where Does the Money Go?

4.5 million. This is the number of people in France who followed a professional learning program in 2023 via the skills development plan. These are the findings of the latest France Compétences report on the financing of vocational training. And €28,500 is the range of unit costs between the five categories of action analyzed^.1

Learn Assembly summarizes the 5 key findings of this annual report on the use of professional learning funds (RUF in French) in 2024. You can download the full version here.

1. Apprenticeship: a Colossal Budget Cut to Rebalance funding for professionnal learning

Apprenticeship has seen better days. In fact, the increase in learners who followed an apprenticeship program is declining. It increased by only +2% in 2023 in the private sector, compared with +14% in 2022 and +38% in 2021.

With almost €16 billion of funds committed in 2023 for 826,900 new apprentices, apprenticeship is the largest expenditure item in vocational training. Its unit cost is over €19,000. It is made up of 50% teaching costs and 34% company subsidies.

The main funding bodies remain the OPCOs and the French government. Nevertheless, the government is now tightening the screws, notably by lowering the levels of reimbursement.

Find out more about the apprenticeship crisis in this article.

2. The CPF: the First Tool for Jobseekers

The Personal Training Account (CPF – Compte personnel de formation) is worth 2.1 billion euros, making it the third largest item of expenditure after apprenticeship and the skills development plan.

Out of the 1.3 million learners who started a course with the CPF, 30% are jobseekers .

New for 2024: a compulsory €100 remaining charge per file, which could slow down its use.

3. The Comeback of the Professionalisation Contract

Stabilized after several years of decline, the professionalization contract financed 115,800 training courses in 2023. It is being repositioned to focus on the integration of low-skilled adults. The average cost is €8,762, more than half that of an apprenticeship contract.

4. Financing Professional Learning: Wide Gaps in Costs

The 2024 edition of the report highlights a wide disparity in device costs:

• 28,500 € difference between the most and least expensive learning programs
• 609 for an in-house learning program financed by the skills development plan, compared with €29,220 for a professional transition project

5. Focus on jobseekers

8.2 billion euros were spent on learning programs for jobseekers in 2023. Spending was down 2.5% on the previous year. 1.2 million people benefited from this training.

A Word from Learn Assembly

While financing professional learning is a strategic lever, it is not enough. How can we remain competitive and efficient in terms of costs and expenditure?

• Leveraging generative AI to optimize learning programs design and management.
• Focus on instructional excellence to guarantee the impact and value of learning programs.
• Work on your brand image and reputation to attract companies and learners.
• Multiply sources of financing to secure your business model and adapt to market trends.

Need help with your L&D strategy? Contact Learn Assembly.

¹Skills development plan, professional transition project, personal learning account (CPF), professionalization contract and apprenticeship contract

Learn Assembly is a hybrid consulting firm created in 2013 to support the transformation of all those involved in learning and employment. Our mission is to help them play a strategic role in their organizations to meet the challenges of skills in a context of environmental transition and technological transformation. We support the general management and L&D departments of major groups, public bodies and higher education institutions in their strategic development.