There is still time to release your 2026 budgets

The start of the new academic year always feels like a fresh start. New goals, a new way of organising things, renewed energy within teams: it’s often the best time of year to ask yourself a simple question. Do my teams really have the skills to meet the challenges of the coming months? And for many managers of micro-businesses, SMEs and craft businesses, this question is accompanied by a somewhat less encouraging realisation: this year’s training budget has not been used, or only partially so. The good news is: it’s not too late. The bad news is: the window of opportunity is closing faster than you might think.

The start of the new school year: the right time to invest in skills

Investing in training – both for yourself and your teams – is not a secondary expense: it is what enables a business to remain competitive, retain its staff and adapt to a rapidly changing market, whether in terms of sales techniques, digital communication or regulatory requirements on health and safety.

In practical terms, a sales team that is better trained in prospecting techniques secures more appointments. A business with well-designed visuals and effective communication inspires greater confidence in its customers. A food business that is up to date with its HACCP obligations avoids costly non-compliance issues during an inspection. In each of these cases, training is not just a box to tick: it is an investment that pays off in the results.

The start of the new working year provides a particularly favourable context for launching this initiative. Teams return with renewed motivation, schedules are easier to organise than at the end of the year, and a training programme scheduled for September or October has time to take effect before the end of the financial year. It also sends a strong signal to your staff: investing in their skills is an investment in both their future within the company and in its performance – a recognised factor in staff retention at a time when the recruitment market remains tight across many sectors.

That leaves one very practical question: how can we fund this skills development without waiting until January?

A budget that is not carried over automatically

The skills development plan, funded via your OPCO or FAF, operates on an annual budget basis. Any funds not committed by the end of the financial year are, in most cases, not carried over to the following year. Each funding body applies its own rules for submitting applications and its own deadlines, but the principle remains the same everywhere: first come, first served.

Unlike the CPF, which accumulates year on year in the employee’s account, the OPCO or FAF budget cannot be carried forward: any amount not used by 31 December is simply lost, with no possibility of recovering it in the following financial year. This is a key difference that is all too often overlooked: many managers instinctively assume that their budget works in the same way as an individual CPF. This is not the case.

However, several sectors have seen their pooled funding allocations reduced in 2026, particularly for businesses with fewer than 50 employees. As a result, applications submitted towards the end of the year are statistically less likely to be successful, due to a lack of remaining funds. Taking action as soon as the new financial year begins is therefore also a way of securing your funding before the budgets run out.

Three ways to fund your training

Depending on your circumstances and sector, one or more of these options may be available to you. It is common to confuse the different schemes, so here’s how to make sense of them

• OPCO funding : Every company pays contributions to an OPCO (Skills Operator) linked to its sector, which pools these contributions to fund training for its employees through the skills development plan. The amount available depends on your collective agreement, your workforce size and the priorities set by your sector for the year. Certain initiatives, such as training a mentor or an apprenticeship supervisor, may even be funded separately, without affecting the main budget.

• FAF funding (Training Insurance Fund): This scheme is aimed at self-employed business owners: craftspeople, shopkeepers and members of the liberal professions. Three main funds cater for this group, depending on the nature of their business: the FAFCEA for craftspeople registered in the Répertoire des Métiers, the AGEFICE for traders and self-employed business owners registered in the Registre du Commerce et des Sociétés, and the FIF-PL for members of the liberal professions. Each fund sets its own annual ceilings, which can range from a few hundred to several thousand euros depending on your business and the fund in question. As with OPCOs, this budget cannot be carried over from one year to the next.

• Direct funding : the solution if your OPCO or FAF budget for 2026 has already been used up, if you are not eligible for other schemes, or if you simply wish to get on with things without waiting for a response from a funding body. It means you don’t have to put your training project on hold whilst waiting for a new allocation the following year.

A practical example

Let’s take the example of a small construction firm with eight employees. The manager wishes to train his sales team in telephone prospecting and to update the security clearances of two technicians. Without support, he would have to identify his relevant OPCO himself, put together two separate applications with the correct supporting documents, meet the submission deadlines specific to each process, and monitor the progress of each application whilst managing the day-to-day running of his business. With end-to-end support, these procedures are handled on his behalf: he simply approves the training project, and the rest is taken care of.

The funding application process, step by step

1. Identifying the need : what skills, for whom, and with what objectives.

2. Identification of the funder : Sector-specific OPCO, FAF depending on the status, or direct funding.

3. Compiling the file : quotation, detailed training programme, supporting documents (proof of membership, registration, training agreement, etc.).

4. Submission within the deadline : most funding bodies systematically reject applications submitted after the course has started.

5. Instructions and agreement to provide care : the deadline varies depending on the funding body, so it is important to allow plenty of time before the end of the financial year.

6. Delivery of the training course, followed by invoicing directly to the funding body or in accordance with the agreed terms.

We take care of all the paperwork

This is often where it all comes down to: it is not a lack of funding that holds up a training course, but the time it takes to put together an OPCO or FAF application, gather the necessary documents and meet the submission deadlines.

At Alfred Formation, a Qualiopi-certified organisation, we take care of all the administrative formalities with your OPCO or FAF: identifying the right point of contact, putting together the application, submitting it on time, and following it up until funding is secured. You don’t have to deal with a thing; you can focus on your business and your teams whilst we secure your funding. This support covers all our training courses across our three areas of expertise: Management & Sales, Communication & Marketing, and Health & Safety.

Check if you’re eligible in 2 minutes

Even before you contact us, you can find out whether your business or organisation is eligible for funding support using our online simulator. Just a few questions are all it takes to identify the funding solution(s) (OPCO, FAF or direct) best suited to your situation.

Check my eligibility →

Why not wait until January?

Postponing until next year means running the risk of losing funding that your company or professional body has already contributed towards. Above all, it means missing out on the best time of the year to upskill your teams, when the start of the new academic year is particularly well-suited to this. Quite simply, using your available budget now means you can benefit from more training courses, rather than having to start from scratch with a new budget the following year.

Would you like to know how much you still need to raise before the end of the year?

Check your eligibility using our simulator, or contact us directly on 03 74 28 53 58 or by email at contact@alfred-formation.fr : we take care of everything, from the administrative procedures right through to the training itself.