What are the rights and benefits of vocational training for private sector employees?

Would you like to have more responsibility at work? Apply for a new position? Gain more skills? Do you want to train, but are you wondering if this is the right time to apply? In this article, IPAG Business School answers all the questions concerning the right to professional training for employees: what are the rights of employees and the obligations of companies? How to follow a training course as an employee? Can an employee claim training from his employer? Who pays for an employee's training? Complete guide.

What is vocational training for private sector employees?

Vocational training is a tool available to private sector employees. Throughout their career, private sector employees acquire rights to continuing training. These rights allow workers to develop their skills and access higher levels of professional qualification. Training for employees is an essential tool for securing their career path.

What are the benefits of employee training?

Vocational training for employees has many advantages:

• It promotes their professional integration or reintegration.
• It enables them to develop their skills and knowledge.
• It is essential to the company's strategy (it allows staff to gain skills, learn new technologies, become more autonomous and more motivated), as it allows the company to limit staff turnover and become more competitive.
• It is a personal challenge for many employees, whether on fixed-term or permanent contracts. Indeed, the latter often aim to develop within their company.
• It is a key element in keeping professionals in employment.

Want to know more? Read our article “Why take a vocational training course”.

What are the professional training rights of an employee?

Employees are not always aware of their training rights. They therefore have many questions when their training plans come to fruition:

• Are employees on fixed-term contracts entitled to training through their company? Yes, the employee can train in whole or in part during working hours, regardless of the duration or form of his or her contract.
• Does an employee on training retain his or her rights to paid leave and seniority? Yes, employees on training retain their rights to paid leave and seniority. They also continue to acquire new rights during their absence from work.

• Can an employee who is off work take a training course? Yes, an employee on sick leave can take certain training courses, with the authorisation of his or her doctor. This can be a skills assessment, training to adapt to the job, skills development or training to improve working conditions.
• Is an employee who takes training outside working hours paid? Yes, because the time spent on training is considered as actual working time. The employee's pay is therefore maintained.

What are the different professional training schemes for employees?

There are many training schemes available to employees. Here is the list of training schemes that can be used to follow a training course:

• Skills development plan ;
• Personal Training Account (CPF). Every employee contributes to this account every year. The amount of the training budget increases until it is used, up to a limit of €5 000, depending on your income level;
• CPF for professional transition ;
• Device Pro A – Reconversion or promotion through work-linked training;
• Reclassification leave (CR) ;
• Validation of acquired experience (VAE).

You don't know how to choose your training? IPAG presents you with all the criteria to study in order to make the right choice.

How to finance your professional training as an employee?

There are many ways of financing professional training to help employees train. The source of financial aid depends largely on the training scheme chosen. All companies pay contributions to finance continuing training, in the form of an annual contribution paid to the URSSAF. This is known as the vocational training contribution. Thanks to this contribution, the company enables its employees to benefit from financial aid to follow professional training. Find out about the different types of funding for vocational training to find out what your options are. You can also contact your employer or HR department directly.

You are now aware of the professional training rights of employees. Take on new responsibilities or change your career path thanks to the many schemes in place for employees. Discover the various professional training courses offered by IPAG Business School by browsing our online training catalogue. You can also contact us for personalised information, depending on your professional project.