In our last article on training, we introduced you to the CPF, our first training funding scheme.
Today, we’d like to introduce you to a second scheme, the skills development plan for your clubs.
What is a skills development plan?
It enables employees to take training courses at their employer’s initiative (as opposed to training courses they can take on their own initiative, thanks to their personal training account).
To do this, employees can submit a training request to their employer, notably via the company’s CSE.
Who is concerned by the skills development plan?
- The club
Drawing up a skills development plan can concern all companies, whatever their size. Whether or not to implement a skills development plan is entirely up to the club, after consultation with employee representatives (CSE).
Each club can therefore have its own skills development plan.
- Salaried players
All salaried players may be eligible for training under their company’s skills development plan.
The player may also take the initiative of requesting training under the company’s skills development plan. The law does not impose any procedure: the request and response are made freely, in accordance with company practices or collective bargaining agreements.
The club is free to accept or refuse. If it accepts, the player’s departure for training is treated as the normal performance of the employment contract.
Players employed by clubs are therefore entitled to apply to their employer, via the club’s skills development plan, for assistance in financing their training.
Which training courses can be funded by the skills development plan?
There are 3 types of training concerned by a skills development plan:
- Compulsory training:
This refers to any training action that is a prerequisite for the exercise of an activity or function, in application of a text (for example, an international convention, a law, a decree).
- Non-compulsory training:
This category covers all optional training programs initiated by the employer.
- Skills assessment and validation of acquired experience (VAE):
The skills development plan can also include skills assessment and VAE initiatives. This is a good thing, as it will enable you to capitalize on what you’ve learned and help you to plan for future training or retraining.
Thanks to your status as a salaried player, all training courses are likely to be covered by your employer as part of its skills development plan. It’s up to you to convince your employer of the importance and coherence of your training project.
For example, if you aspire to take on responsibilities as general manager or sporting director at the club where you play as a professional player, it would be advisable to discuss your training and its financing with your current club.
Is a skills development plan mandatory for clubs?
It is not currently compulsory for a club to set up a skills development plan.
To find out more, please contact your club.
How can the club finance your training?
There are two main ways in which a club can finance employee training through its skills development plan:
- Its own funds
The club can choose to allocate part of its budget to the professional training of its staff.
- Training funds made available by its skills operator
What is a skills operator?
A skills operator is a public funding structure that guarantees apprenticeships and the development of training in the various existing trades.
The sports industry’s OPCO is the AFDAS. We’ll come back to this in more detail in a future article.
This will enable your club to apply for all or part of your training to be paid for.
Applications for funding can be made every year, whether you stay with the same club or decide to change.
Of course, the funds allocated to each club are limited, and it is up to the club to decide how it wishes to use these funds.
Many players train and have trained thanks to their club’s skills development plan, so why not you?
For more information on this subject, contact your training consultant Arthur Daroux!