Life-long learning enables working or non-working professionals to enhance their professional profiles and boost up their careers through development of new skills.
Any training fees pertaining to life-long learning can be deducted from your income tax, provided deduction is made on allowable expenses. If this is your case, please contact your nearest tax administration office which will inform you on specific conditions and documents to join to your tax declaration.

Depending on the statutes applying to your situation, you may be entitled to a training session under one of the following schemes:

You undergo a training session as a individual and pay for it in person.

Whatever the form or duration of your contract, you may benefit partly or in full from a training session during your working time under one of the following schemes:

 Training scheme - Plan de Formation (PF)
The Training scheme is a written document stating all the training actions decided by the CEO and the ones requested within the company by one or more salaried workers on an individual basis or by staff representatives, provided acceptance of the CEO.

 Individual training right - Droit Individuel à la Formation (DIF)
The Individual training right enables salaried workers to be allocated training credits on a 20-hour per year basis which can be accrued over a period of 6 years to a maximum of 120 hours. The decision to use this scheme belongs to the worker, but implementation of the specific training action requires acceptance of the CEO.

 Individual training scheme - Congé Individuel de Formation (CIF)
The Individual training scheme enables workers to undergo at any time of their professional life and on an individual basis training actions which are not related to the ones provided within the company training scheme. In order to qualify to the scheme, the salaried worker must fulfil specific conditions and follow specific requirement procedures.

 Individual Temporary Work Training scheme - Congé Individuel de Formation intérim (CIF)
The Individual Temporary Work Training scheme is a leave authorization allowing you to undergo training actions on your own initiative.
In order to qualify to the Individual Temporary Work Training scheme, you must make a written leave request to your temping agency and send a funding request to the relevant Temporary Work Training Fund for total or partial discharge of the training fees.

 Redeployment scheme for former members of armed forces - Militaire en reconversion (RM)
Members of armed forces leaving active duty may undergo training actions under this Redeployment scheme. Please consult your relevant authority.

Common law training actions, accessible by salaried employees and job seekers, are also opened to disabled workers (e.g. as part of a Training scheme or Individual Training scheme or Professionalization periods, etc.).
Legally registered disabled workers may also access specific training actions and be granted extra benefits in terms of earnings for instance.

Self-employed workers (farmers, craftsmen, independant workers, shopkeepers, businessmen) are also entitled to training actions.
Self-employed workers compulsorily contribute to the financing of their training by settling a contribution to a State accredited collecting body.
In return, self-employed workers may be granted total or partial funding of their training action by their relevant Training fund, according to its policy and funding requirements.
A common training fund for registered Small Business owners (FAFCEA) was set up on the 1st of January 2008.

You may benefit from the following schemes:

 Personalised Action Scheme - Projet d’Action Personnalisé (PAP)
 "2nd chance" Qualification scheme - « Chèque qualification » ou « 2ème chance »
 Pre-employment training action - Action de Formation Préalable à l'Embauche (AFPE)
 Individual training leave - Congé Individuel de Formation (CIF-CDD)
 Training and professional integration scheme - Aide à la formation et à l'insertion professionnelle
 Redundancy (Réforme du licenciement économique) : Personalised reclassification agreement or Professional transition contract (Convention de Reclassement Personnalisé - CRP ou Contrat de Transition Professionnelle - CTP).

Please consult your personal counselor at Pôle emploi, APEC or AFPA agencies.