How do I become a training organisation?

By Grégory Coste.

Published: 5 November 2024

How do you set up and register your training organisation? How do I become an independent trainer? A few years ago, it was very easy to obtain a trainer's number.

It would seem that the public authorities wanted to "clean up their act" and weed out the charlatans who were abusing the training funding system, a financial windfall that was supposed to be easy for some unscrupulous people to reach.

More stringent rules now govern the training profession: from now on, all training activities must be provided by a training organisation, i.e. a company holding a business registration number, whether the trainer is self-employed, a self-employed entrepreneur, an employee, or the founder of a company providing professional training.

In a nutshell:

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How Hélène Desliens set up her training organisation

appvizer interviewed Hélène Desliens, co-founder of Experteez, an organisation that provides digital training (design thinking, data management, digital marketing, e-commerce, etc.).

In answering our questions, Hélène explains how to set up her own training organisation. Her experience is accompanied by some very useful advice and insights for newcomers.

How do you become a training organisation?

That's a big question! Being a training organisation is not a trivial matter. You have a very important responsibility towards the learners (and the companies).

When people commit their time and budget to improving their skills, there's no question of disappointing them and passing on knowledge that they can't or won't be able to apply.

We don't have the right to make mistakes, because the learner doesn't either.

We need to understand the need, identify how to meet it, implement it and, finally, check it so that we can correct or improve our know-how in the future.

Once you've understood that, the administrative procedures, which may seem cumbersome, make perfect sense.

What steps need to be taken?

The first step is to contact the DIRRECTE (directorate for companies, competition, consumption, labour and employment).

This is where you submit an application to obtain a training activity declaration number within a maximum of 3 months following the first training event.

The organisation must provide a number of administrative documents (CERFA, Kbis, etc.) and details of the first training course. The company's articles of association may be dedicated to training, or it may have another principal activity.

It is the company that is given a declaration number, not the trainer specifically.

This number is compulsory and must always be followed by the words "Registered under number".

Does the registration number mean that the organisation is approved by the State?

No. This registration "does not imply approval by the State" (article L.6352-12 of the Labour Code). But this can create a certain amount of confusion in the minds of learners: is it an authorisation, an approval?

In fact, it is in no way a number that certifies the quality of the training organisation, let alone the courses it delivers. What's more, in the vast majority of cases, government approval doesn't really exist. It is a declaration of activity.

In addition, to retain this number, the organisation must draw up an educational and financial report each year.

They have to prove that they have indeed carried out training activities, what proportion of their turnover this represents, etc.

In short, as you will have realised, these administrative procedures are not very complicated, but you don't go through them for nothing, and you don't become a training organisation by accident.

What are the obligations of your business?

To run training courses, all you need is a registration number (except for certain sectors, such as the medical sector, which have specific obligations).

Financing, however, is a different matter. You first need to identify the status of the learners. Are they private individuals? A job seeker? A company employee? You will be organising "in-company" or "inter-company" training courses.

More specifically, will you be offering a course, indicating the subject and date, and leaving it up to the participants to sign up and finance the course (inter), or will you be targeting a company that wants to train all or some of its staff (intra)?

In-house, you do BtoC, in-house, BtoB. And all the consequences that entails.

What is common and compulsory, however, are the terms and conditions of the training course:

create a syllabus for the training course (a sort of detailed plan), including the objective, the list of the main skills to be acquired, the prerequisites (experience, qualifications or minimum level required to follow the course), the duration of the course in hours, how it will be run and where it will take place;

hand out an induction booklet and a set of internal rules (or use the company's rules if the course is being run on the company's premises);

have each learner sign in* for each half-day;

send them a training certificate at the end, certifying attendance and skills acquired.

*The attendance sheet, known as the "feuille d'émargement", is a legal obligation: both the learner and the trainer must sign it. This document constitutes legal proof under the Labour Code.

How do I get training financed?

If an OPCA (Organisme Paritaire Collecteur Agréé) provides funding, there are a few additional steps.

First of all, the training organisation must be accredited (by the OPCAs) on DATADOCK, a common platform that qualifies training organisations according to qualitative criteria. If this is the case, the learner must complete a file prior to the training course.

Since the last reform in 2014, there have been many changes in this area, both in terms of the methods and amounts collected and in terms of funding. A new reform is currently underway.

What are the criteria for a course to be eligible for the CPF?

For a course to be eligible for the CPF (Personal Training Account), and for it to be financed within this framework, it must lead to a qualification, a diploma or a certificate:

Qualifying corresponds to the specificities of each branch (building and civil engineering, medical, etc.);

Qualifying means that there is an RNCP (Répertoire National des Certifications Professionnelles) diploma at the end of the course (which is rarely the case with short courses);

And certifying... this is where the administrative procedures become much more complex. I'll leave you to delve deeper into the subject, but at the very least you should know that any training organisation can run a course that is already listed under the CPF if it meets one of the 3 previous criteria, even if it is another organisation that has taken the necessary steps. But only that organisation can certify the course. Otherwise, no CPF.

Finally, a training organisation can be awarded a "quality" label, for example by the OPQF (Office Professionnel de Qualification des Organismes de Formation).

This is not an obligation, or at least not at present.

In conclusion, remember that on the one hand there are business obligations; you must, before training, explain what is going to be learned and certify it. Logical.

Secondly, you have to be considered as an organisation (which means you have to have an activity declaration number), so that the training courses you provide are included in the company training plan and, in some cases, partially covered by the OPCA.

Finally, for a course to be eligible for the CPF, it must lead to a diploma, qualification or certification.

Do I have to train to be a trainer?

There is no requirement to have a trainer's diploma to run a training course.

On the other hand, learner satisfaction questionnaires will enable you to quickly assess the teaching skills of your trainers if you've made a mistake in your recruitment!

Knowing how to pass on knowledge, know-how or interpersonal skills is a real skill. And it can be learned.

At Experteez, we're convinced that teaching methods can be learned, but that it's above all a matter of having the right attitude (already).

Knowing how to express yourself clearly, being dynamic when speaking and being kind to learners are the basis of our selection criteria - in addition to business criteria, of course.

If a candidate trainer doesn't already have these skills, we won't recruit them. On the other hand, we work with our trainers on teaching methods and encourage exchanges of best practice between them and with us.

How is Experteez organised?

When we set up Experteez, we started from two observations: on the one hand, the management and implementation of a 'digital transformation' required teams to develop their skills (culture, skills, methods), and on the other hand, the training on offer was often too theoretical and didn't sufficiently promote the appropriation of skills.

So we decided to help organisations acquire the skills and methods they needed to make a success of their 'digital transformation', thanks to tailor-made training solutions co-constructed and led by 'business' experts and focused on practical application.

Experteez is founded on three key principles: our training courses are all tailor-made and context-specific (100% in-company); we bring together more than 60 industry experts who work with us to co-construct accelerator courses and workshops in response to the needs expressed by our client companies; and we strongly encourage collaborative workshops to put the skills we teach into practice.

We take on the role of training organisation: commercial and administrative procedures, quality of learning and teaching methods.

Our expert trainers run the training courses. It's a good dynamic.

Do you use software to manage the running of your organisation?

We are organised into 4 divisions. The first deals with Experteez's strategy and development, the second with sales, the third with recruiting, managing and training our expert trainers, and the 4th with administration.

We don't yet have any major software requirements for the section dedicated to training registrations and schedules, as we don't organise inter-company training courses.

If we did, I think this would undoubtedly have been one of our priorities when we set up our company!

What problems can software help you solve?

It is true, however, that the creation of the various training certificates and the preparation of training materials can quickly prove time-consuming.

All the tasks that can be automated and for which we don't provide any real added value are or will be managed by tools or service providers. We are at the beginning of a wonderful adventure.

Passing on information is undoubtedly one of the most exciting and rewarding functions. At Experteez, we will continue to develop our offering so that we remain relevant and close to both learners and expert trainers.

Software for managing a training centre

Hélène Desliens drew our attention to two triggers for the need to use dedicated software, as they are extremely time-consuming:

in the case of inter-company training activities, the use of software is essential to better manage all the training calendars, trainer schedules, registrations, procedures and related documents,
The larger your organisation, the more time-consuming administrative procedures you have to deal with, with no real added value for your business.

Here we present you with solutions tailored to different needs and sizes of organisation, to solve all the problems inherent in a training centre.

Queoval Formation simplifies administrative procedures

Queoval Formation is a SaaS software package that meets all the needs of a training organisation.

VSEs and SMEs appreciate the SaaS aspect: the management software package can be used online, offering all the advantages of collaborative features.

Queoval formation simplifies administrative procedures for VSEs and SMEs involved in training.

The strengths of the software lie in its intelligent combination of an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool: in other words, the solution enables users to manage all aspects of project management, administration and customer relations within the same interface.

all users, staff and trainers have access to an online collaborative workspace where information is updated in real time: everyone has access to the same information;

you allocate tasks according to your resources: they are integrated into the training schedules, which are, along with the diaries, shared by the whole team (synchronisation possible with Google or Outlook tools);

you can integrate your document database to exchange, share and archive important documents such as attendance sheets, agreements, certificates, etc. ;

the CRM functions cover the key points in the relationship with the customer, i.e. generating quotations, invoices and email prospecting; - you can monitor the progress of your training and sales activities in real time;

the system lets you easily calculate the Educational and Financial Balance Sheets.

The system also provides remarkable assistance for editing ANDPC documents: you can automatically generate administrative documents such as programme registration letters, attendance sheets, professional training agreements, DPC certificates, etc.

An undeniable advantage for Training Centres certified by the ANDPC (L'Agence Nationale de Développement Professionnel Continu):

The Queoval solution now benefits from the 400 guidelines for 2016-2018. This update enables you to enter the national orientation of your training sessions, the ADELLI/RPPS number of participants and to generate certain documents linked to these standards.

AppliRH: a software suite for large-scale requirements

AppliRH is a human resources management software suite designed for training centres of the ETI type (up to 5,000 employees) and/or for HR managers who need to manage large numbers of training plans.

AppliRH combines 2 facets of professional training to be used according to your needs:

the CentreRH solution, to simplify the management of a training organisation,
the FormationRH solution, for managing training plans.

The AppliRH software suite eliminates the slow and cumbersome administrative management that can be a burden for training companies and educational establishments.

Focus on the advantages of CentreRH
You focus on the quality of your training, not the quantity. The software allows you to save time and increase productivity by facilitating all the seemingly laborious aspects of running a centre:

easier administrative management, including agreements, invitations, attendance sheets, certificates, etc,
commercial and financial management, including invoicing to multiple payers,
logistics management, including availability of trainers, rooms, equipment, etc,
centralised, shared document management with over 100 pre-configured templates (certificates, agreements, etc.),
simplified printing of mandatory documents such as the Educational and Financial Report.

The web portal makes it easy to communicate with all your contacts: trainees, customers, trainers and administrators.

it takes stock of the needs expressed,
it carries out simulations,
manages schedules, availability of rooms, trainers, etc,
It receives alerts (configured upstream) to anticipate needs and availability,
It tracks costs and training sessions accurately and in real time,
integrates OPCA file management into the tool, etc.