Frequently Asked Questions
Q1 - What is the name of the Training Fund?
‘Le fond de formation professionnel’ - The Professional Training Fund. Anyone that pays contributions can apply for the fund - salaried employees - company directors - owners of small businesses (micro-entrepreneurs)
Q3 - How can I find out if I am eligible? If you have created an account on the https://www.autoentrepreneur.
urssaf.fr/ website, go to your documents area. From here you can download the "Attestation de contribution formation professionnelle (versement ou dispense)". This document will tell you if you have made any contributions, the amount and the name of the association that manages your training centres. As long as the contribution is not 0 then you will be entitled to training funds. Just to be clear though, the amount of funding available is not the figure shown on the attestation. As long as you have paid something, even 1€, then you could be entitled to funds of over 200€ - for FREE. For company directors, you should also be able to access the URSSAF website or simply ask your accountant. For salaried employees, it must be the company you work for that makes the request for the funding. Q4 - How much will I be entitled to? The amount varies depending on your business and which association manages your training centres, so we can’t confirm the application has been submitted. However, the good news is that recent applicants have been entitled to between 220€ and 4200€ and have been able to use their funds to pay for various courses that we provide. Q5 - Do I have to pay it back? No, you don’t have to pay any of it back as long as you have used all of the funds to pay for approved training services. If you don’t use it all then you should refund the outstanding balance to the association that you received it from. Q6 - Do I have to declare it as income on my tax forms? No, it is not treated as salary, or any other form of income or benefit, so you don’t have to declare it on your tax forms
Q7 - Can I use the funds to cover any training course, or is it only for training through a specific company? It can only be used to pay for training courses provided by a QUALIOPI certified organisation, such as Espoir Nature. Q8 - How do I apply for the funds and how long does it take to come through? To apply for your training funds you must ask a training organisation to draw up a quote, a training agreement and a training programme. The purpose of the training must be to help you improve your professional skills, acquire new ones or develop your business. It is recommended that you have the quote and agreement made at least one month before the start of the course. Normally, your collecting organisation (the people who manage the funding) will give you an answer within a month. You will be reimbursed at the end of the training according to the dates set out in the training agreement. You will need to provide several documents to prove that you have taken the training. (enrolment form, certificate of attendance, transcript of attendance for online courses, certificate of payment for the course). It’s important that these documents are clear and correctly written up to ensure there are no delays. But don't worry, Espoir Nature will take care of this for you and send you the necessary documents to sign. They can also submit the application for the funding on your behalf (see Q10)
Q9 - If I don’t apply for the funds this year will it still be available for me to use next year? If you don’t apply this year but carry on working and paying cotisations then you should have funds available next year, but you will lose what is available this year. The training fund doesn’t accumulate, or carry forward to the next year. If it is not used in any one year then that year’s funds are lost. Q10 - Is there a charge for applying for the funds? If you decide to use our training services then we will complete all the fund administration for you once you have sent us your business details, etc. If you decide not to use the funds for any of our Formation Espoir Nature training services, it is not a problem, but we will have to charge for the fund application service which is 75€
Q11 - If I am eligible how are the funds paid? Do they go straight to the training organisation or into my bank account? The money is paid directly into your bank account and you then settle any invoices with the associations providing your courses. Q12 - What training courses do you provide? We are adding to our list of available training courses all the time. Currently, we provide language training in French and English. We also provide website design, build and management training services. In addition we offer help and advice on setting up Social Media accounts and how to use them to promote your business. If there is a demand for other courses, then we will arrange for ‘guest speakers’ to prepare and present one or more online sessions, and provide supporting documentation. As long as you have sufficient funds then you don’t have to use any of your own money to pay for these courses. They can all be covered by your training fund. Q13 - Do I pay for your training courses upfront or when they have all been completed? If you decide you want to use your training funds with Espoir Nature then we will confirm which courses you want, how many hours they will take, or a fixed price, depending on the training. We will prepare a devis listing the agreed training, and then we ask you to sign and return the devis. When all training is completed we send our invoice for the full amount, and the training funds are released into your bank account to cover the invoice. Q14 - Are all the training courses online? Currently, most of our courses are presented via one or more different mediums, either conference call or video chats. We have offer some 1-2-1 sessions and group sessions. Group sessions are less expensive but are not always the best way if you want to learn at your own pace. It also depends on whether the topics you want to learn about in your language lessons are the same as other people’s. Face to face meetings will obviously depend on your location. Q15 - What if I don't have a training fund after having requested it, or if I have less than what we asked for on the quote? If your fund application is turned down (this can happen at the end of the year when the overall budget has been used), the training will be cancelled or postponed to the following year depending on what you want to do. However, if your funding is less than what was planned in the original quote, we can adapt the training hours to fit your budget. Q16 - How does the training fund work? The training funds are a global budget for all the companies that carry out the same activity as you (according to your NAF code). This budget must be used within the calendar year otherwise it will be lost. Every year this budget is updated and therefore it means that you can apply for a training course every year. But it can also mean that if you wait too long to apply then the whole budget may have already been spent and you will lose out.
