Three years after the implementation of its new version at the end of 2019, when it was switched to euros and no longer to training hours, the professional training account has made it possible to finance more than 5 million training courses for some 7 billion euros, according to investigation published Friday by the Ministry of Labor.
Two million people used the CPF in 2021, according to the survey conducted by France Competence and Dares, the statistical service of the Ministry of Labor. This focused on those leaving training in November 2021. It shows that nearly nine out of ten people who have taken training recommend it. In three-quarters of cases, registration is initiated by the person.
Eight out of ten training courses have at least one professional objective and 35% of the beneficiaries say their objective is to improve their career prospects. Nearly two thirds of people trained (64%) say they have used what they learned, 19% think they will use it later. The most used training is the driver’s license.
One in five people willing to pay for part of their training
While the government plans to introduce a financial contribution from employees when they take training, this survey shows that one out of five people trained would have been ready to pay all the educational costs if they had not been able to use their CPF. Among those ready to pay, we find more often men (22%) than women (15%), the youngest (25% for those under 30, against 8% for those aged 60 and over) or even job seekers (22%) and fixed-term contracts (29% against 16% of permanent contracts).
The executive indeed wishes to set up a remainder to be paid to “empower the beneficiaries”, in the words of the ministry. The measure, which was not debated in the Assembly and is highly criticized by the CFDT and the CGT, was added at the last minute by the government in the budget of the finance bill, just before activating 49.3.
It provides for a form of “moderator ticket” by employees wishing to use their rights accumulated on their CPF. Participation may be proportional to the cost of the training, within the limit of a ceiling, or set at a lump sum. A decree in Council of State will have to specify the methods of it, the job seekers being exonerated.