The OPCOs: skills operators essential to the financing of training
Behind the term OPCO lies the entire system that supports and finances professional training. Essential since the disappearance of the OPCAs, they participate in the development of skills in association with companies and employees. Here is the role of the competence operators, how they work and the place of Bienvenue Formation in the exchanges with the training providers.
The mission of the competence operators
Since 2019, the Ministry of Labor has designated 11 organizations whose objective is to support professional training. The mission of the skills operators (OPCO) is to finance training courses such as apprenticeship. In addition, they must assist each branch of activity to establish its own needs in professional certification. Finally, they must help small and medium-sized companies to determine their priorities in terms of apprenticeship and training. This involvement in forward-looking employment management (GPEC) and in the skills development plan makes it possible to anticipate the future needs of each business sector. By accompanying the professional branches, the OPCOs define with them the necessary levels of certification and the major trends in the evolution of professions. In addition, the partners also decide on the level of funding for training.
The OPCOs divided according to sectors of activity
The reform of continuing vocational training concluded that a logic of professional branches was necessary. The principle of similar needs by type of activity has led to the creation of 11 different OPCOs. All sectors of activity are therefore covered by these organizations. We find the following actors:
- Opcommerce for trade and sales activities - OPCO Santé which groups together the professions of private medicine - OPCO des entreprises de proximité which concerns small businesses in many fields - OPCO mobilités for transport, distribution and travel - OPCO construction for companies in the building and public works sector and the wood industry - OPCO 2i (inter-industrial) for the professions of the industry - OCAPIAT for agriculture, fishing and agri-food - AKTO for labor-intensive services - Uniformation manages social cohesion trades - ATLAS assists financial services and consulting in developing their skills - AFDAS assists culture, leisure, sports and media trades
It is therefore the nature of the activity that determines to which branch the companies belong. This consistency allows for a more global approach by type of profession.
The Ministry of Labor was entrusted with the issuance of an accreditation that depended on several criteria. Each competence body had to reach an agreement with the representative companies and employees of its professional branch beforehand. Questions of economic relevance and management performance were measured. The Ministry assessed the capacity to implement the missions with an emphasis on proximity. One criterion concerned the capacity to help more than 200,000 member companies or to manage more than 200 million euros. Finally, to obtain approval, the skills operator had to commit to governance by a joint commission.
Funding of paying agencies
France Compétences, the "national authority for financing and regulating vocational training and apprenticeship" is responsible for collecting the contribution. Companies pay a contribution for professional training. This contribution is pooled and then paid back almost in full to the OPCOs. The contribution thus enables the skills operators to finance projects. From work-study programs to apprenticeships, and including any action that contributes to the development of skills, the OPCOs can intervene in many areas.
The beneficiaries of the OPCOs
Vocational training and its financing concern all employees and non-employees over 16 years old. Every actor in the world of work can benefit from their actions. Jobseekers, trainees, companies and employees all benefit from information and financing. In the case of unemployment insurance, it is Pôle Emploi that plays the role of competence operator. The OPCOs can also take charge of apprenticeship and professionalization contracts. The operators also play an important role in the personal training account (CPF) by providing information on the possibility of financial assistance.
Find your competence operator (OPCO)
There are several ways to find out which competence operator you belong to. The first one is to go on the Cfadock website with the Siret number of your company. It is also possible to find out by the Collective Agreement Identifier (IDCC) that you can find on your pay slip (a number between 0001 and 9999). Finally, by searching by sector of activity, you can obtain the OPCO managing your professional branch. If you visit the Ministry of Labor website, you will find various links and tables to facilitate this search.
The financing of training by the OPCOs
In order to obtain assistance or reimbursement, the training provider must be referenced by Datadock. This already guarantees a minimum level of requirement on the part of the training organization. The OPCOs only finance trainers listed in this database. Today, the Qualiopi label further strengthens the quality criteria of the training and becomes a mandatory certificate to obtain public funds. In order to obtain the Qualiopi label or accreditation, training providers must meet quality requirements as well as the need for resources. Each step of the training process must correspond to a national reference system.
Welcome training meets the requirements of the OPCOs
Each training provider wishing to benefit from the support of the competence operators must meet a certain number of criteria. The security of the training program and the reliability of the information transmitted are among the elements that are checked. For example, the competence operators have integrated dematerialization into their operating mode. However, this exchange system must be carried out in complete security. Thus, the signatures of electronic documents must comply with standards. Our company bsoft.fr integrates a signature with probative value into its Bienvenue Formation signature application. This means that we benefit from certifications and security guarantees such as the RGS* certified PDF. In addition to the signature, we guarantee the entire process of identification, transmission and archiving. Training organizations therefore use our solution to ensure a secure exchange with the OPCOs.
Our sign-in sheets and documents are time-stamped and RGS* certified and generated in PDF format. The document cannot be modified in any way.
Infallible traceability
The attendance sheets generated by Bienvenue Formation are traceable from the beginning to the end of the process. From the display of the secure QR code to the export of the attendance sheets, all data is saved.
French server and RGPD
Bienvenue Formation has a 100% French host, all data on our servers are kept and secured in France.
The future of training funding
The arrival of numerous players in the world of training thanks to the development of the personal training account (CPF) means that the level of requirements has to be increased. Competence operators are imposing more and more numerous and measurable quality criteria. For training organizations and the whole activity developing professional skills, it becomes difficult to control each step. Our application relieves providers of a whole part of the process for which they do not have the qualifications. By delegating these steps and concentrating on their core business, they will be able to achieve the excellence required by the OPCOs.
