Everything you need to know about the CPF
The Personal Training Fund (CPF) follows on from the DIF (2004 – 2014). This Fund was created for all workers aged over 16 (15 if they are apprentices) and it covers employees and jobseekers. Freelance workers and company heads will become part of this fund from 2020.
The idea behind the CPF is to give more workers access to a better level of qualification, which means that any training eligible for CPF funding must lead to a certificate or diploma recognised within this framework.
The real novelty of this system is that it is the worker who is at the heart of the system and no longer the employer. Workers must apply for the use of their CPF via a dedicated site and no longer through their employer. If the training takes place outside working hours, workers no longer even have to inform their employers. Nevertheless, the training must fulfil certain criteria to obtain financing. It must be on the list of eligible training and lead to a diploma, a qualification or certification.
The old DIF hours are not lost.
Any employees who worked before December 31st 2014 received a certificate from their employer in January 2015, informing them how many DIF hours they had accumulated (keep this safe!). With the help of this certificate, employees must enter the number of hours shown, into their CPF account (www.moncompteformation.gouv.fr) BEFORE June 30st 2021. Otherwise, these hours will be definitively lost.
From 2015 to 2018, the CPF increased by 24 hours each year (for full-time employment), i.e. 96 hours over this 4-year period.
In 2019, the new reform introduced the monetisation of the Personal Training Fund. DIF and CPF hours were transformed into Euros, on the basis of 15 € including tax per hour (i.e. 12.50 € before tax).
For example, an employee who had 120 DIF hours (the ceiling for this system) and 96 CPF hours therefore has a training budget of (120 + 96) x 15€ = 3 240 Euros including tax. From 2019, since the concept of hours no longer exists, accounts are credited with the sum of 500 € every year with a ceiling of 5 000 € (800 € and 8 000 € for people with lower qualifications).
To accompany workers in developing their competencies and their professional lives, a Professional Evolution Counselling body (CEP) was created. This body comprises Pôle Emploi, APEC, the Missions Locales, Cap Emploi and the OPACIF offices. These institutions are in charge of counselling workers with regard to their professional careers and their potential training requirements (separate from their employer) and to accompany them when they apply to use their CPF. The use of the CPF must be activated via the www.moncompteformation.gouv.fr website. Workers must connect using their social security number and complete the various sections after defining a password to secure their account.
If the amount available is not enough to finance the chosen project, the worker may elect to pay the difference him/herself. Their employers may also contribute, obviously on condition that it is in their interest and that the employee has informed them and asked them to contribute to the cost. If you are an employee, don’t hesitate to talk this over with your employer or your manager…
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