Skills Assessment in France: What Is It For and How Do You Get Started?
30 October 2026 · 5 min reading time
Join Staffmatch
See job offersSummarize this article with
Are you thinking about changing jobs but unsure which direction to take? Perhaps you already have an idea, but you're hesitant about returning to education or leaving your current position. A skills assessment (bilan de compétences) can help you review your professional experience and explore your options. Here's what you can expect from the process and how to get started.
Why Should You Consider a Skills Assessment?
A skills assessment is a structured process designed to help you plan your professional future. Working with a career consultant, you examine your skills, abilities and motivations to define a career project and identify the steps needed to achieve it. This might involve changing careers, progressing in your current profession or undertaking further training.
After several years of working, it isn't always easy to identify everything you've learned. Someone who has worked in hospitality might immediately think of customer service. Yet they've also developed skills in managing orders, coordinating tasks with colleagues and handling unexpected requests. A skills assessment helps uncover these transferable abilities and explore how they could be useful in another role.
It also helps you understand what you actually want to change. You might enjoy your profession but no longer be comfortable with the working hours. Or perhaps you like your company but feel ready for greater responsibilities. These situations call for different solutions.
You can therefore begin a skills assessment without knowing what your next job will be. A few questions can guide your initial discussions: what career opportunities are available with your experience? Does the profession you're considering match your expectations? What additional skills or qualifications would you need?
A skills assessment doesn't award a qualification or guarantee employment. Its main purpose is to give you a clearer direction and the information you need to decide what comes next.
Who Can Benefit from a Skills Assessment?
Private-sector employees, self-employed workers and jobseekers can undertake a skills assessment in France. Public-sector employees may also be eligible, depending on the rules applicable to their employment status. The process isn't reserved for managers or people planning to leave their jobs.
For temporary workers, a skills assessment can be particularly useful after completing several assignments without developing a clear career direction. You may have worked for different companies, moved between industries and learned to use new tools. By reviewing each assignment, you can identify the tasks you're confident performing and the working environments you'd like to explore further.
However, you need to be able to dedicate time to the process. Appointments require availability, and reflection continues between sessions through career research, discussions with professionals and preparation for your next meeting.
If you're unsure whether a skills assessment is the right option, you can start with career development advice (Conseil en évolution professionnelle, CEP). This free service helps you review your situation and identify the most suitable next steps.
How Does a Skills Assessment Work?
A skills assessment consists of three phases: an initial assessment, an investigation phase and a conclusion. Its duration depends on your needs, with a maximum of 24 hours, generally spread over several weeks. This schedule allows time for reflection and research between appointments.
An initial discussion to clarify your expectations
The process begins with a conversation about what has brought you here. You might want to change careers, be considering several professions or feel that you're no longer progressing in your current position. The consultant helps you clarify your questions and works with you to organise the assessment.
Your personal circumstances are also taken into account. The need to maintain a certain income, limit commuting or work around family commitments will help shape the criteria for your future career plans.
To prepare for this discussion, you can simply write down what you enjoy about your current job, what you find difficult and any ideas you've already considered. You don't need to arrive with a fully developed career plan. That's precisely what the assessment will help you build.
Exploring your experience and potential career paths
Together with the consultant, you review your professional experience, including the tasks you're confident performing, those you enjoy and those you'd rather avoid in your next job. Possible career directions gradually begin to emerge.
Discussions focus on real situations you've experienced. How did you organise a particularly busy day? What responsibilities were you given? What did you learn during your most recent assignment? These examples reveal more about your abilities than simply describing yourself as "organised", "independent" or "versatile".
Depending on the provider's approach, exercises or questionnaires may complement the interviews. They contribute to the discussion, but the assessment involves much more than interpreting test results.
The next step is to research the professions you've identified. A job might appeal to you even though you know little about its working hours, career opportunities or qualification requirements. Reading job advertisements and speaking with professionals can help you determine whether the day-to-day reality matches your expectations.
Some ideas will become clearer and more appealing. Others may be reconsidered or adjusted as you gather more information.
A written summary and an action plan
The final phase brings together the results of your assessment and the steps needed to move forward. You receive a written summary outlining your career project. The results are confidential and cannot be shared with a third party without your consent.
The goal is to identify where to begin. "Working in logistics" is still a fairly broad ambition. Identifying a specific position, checking its entry requirements and contacting a training provider gives your project a more concrete direction.
Depending on your circumstances, the assessment may also confirm that you're happy in your current profession while helping you identify a different type of employer or new responsibilities.
How Much Does a Skills Assessment Cost and How Can You Fund It?
There is no fixed national price for a skills assessment in France. Costs vary according to the provider and the support offered. When comparing programmes, consider the number of consultation hours, appointment arrangements and any follow-up support included.
It's also important to distinguish between time spent with the consultant and independent work. Two programmes advertising a similar overall duration may offer very different amounts of individual support.
Funding through the CPF
The Personal Training Account (Compte personnel de formation, CPF) can be used to fund a skills assessment, subject to eligibility conditions. Following changes introduced in 2026, the amount of CPF funding that can be used for this service is capped at €1,600. This is neither a fixed price set for providers nor an amount automatically available to everyone: funding also depends on the balance in your CPF account.
To use CPF funding, you must not have received funding for a skills assessment from the relevant funding bodies during the five years preceding your application. These include the CPF, France Travail and OPCOs (skills operators). If you've already completed a skills assessment, you'll therefore need to check how it was funded before applying for another.
A mandatory contribution of €150 has applied since 1 April 2026, unless you qualify for an exemption. Jobseekers are among those exempt, along with certain beneficiaries of employer or OPCO funding. If your remaining payment already exceeds €150, this contribution is included in that amount rather than added a second time.
Other funding options
Your employer may finance a skills assessment as part of the company's skills development plan. If you're a jobseeker, your France Travail adviser can review the financial support options available for your career project. Funding is not automatic and should be confirmed before you register.
| Your situation | Where should you start? |
|---|---|
| You want to use your CPF | Check your balance and eligible programmes on Mon Compte Formation |
| Your employer supports your plans | Discuss employer funding or additional financial support |
| You're a jobseeker | Discuss your needs with your France Travail adviser |
| You're paying for the assessment yourself | Compare detailed quotes and contractual terms |
An assessment described as "eligible for CPF funding" won't necessarily be free. The quote and funding plan should clearly explain which costs are covered and how much you'll need to pay yourself.
How Do You Choose the Right Skills Assessment Provider?
Your first conversation with a provider is an opportunity to understand how the consultant works. You'll be discussing your professional experience, uncertainties and career ideas that may still be taking shape. You should feel comfortable asking questions and taking the time to compare different options.
Beyond the provider's sales presentation, find out who will actually conduct your sessions and how the programme is organised. The consultant should be able to explain their methods, the work expected between appointments and how you'll explore potential career paths.
Before registering, consider asking about:
- the number of hours dedicated to individual consultations;
- the consultant's experience in career guidance;
- the role of questionnaires and independent work;
- available appointment times and scheduling flexibility;
- the support provided after completing the assessment.
To use CPF funding, the programme must be listed on the official platform. Qualiopi certification is among the requirements applying to eligible training providers, but it shouldn't be your only selection criterion. The quality of the support and your initial conversation with the consultant are equally important.
An online skills assessment can make the process easier to organise if you have limited time to travel. However, make sure you have access to a quiet, private space where you can speak freely. Face-to-face appointments may suit you better if you prefer stepping away from your usual environment to focus on your career plans.
Do You Need to Inform Your Employer?
If your skills assessment takes place entirely outside working hours, you don't need to inform your employer. However, their prior agreement is required if any sessions take place during your normal working hours. Your salary is maintained for the authorised time spent attending the assessment.
If the assessment is proposed by your employer, your consent is required. Refusing to participate does not constitute misconduct or grounds for dismissal. Employer funding also doesn't automatically give the company access to your results: sharing them remains subject to your agreement.
For temporary workers, it's best to plan appointments in advance. If some sessions need to take place during an assignment, contact your temporary employment agency before confirming dates to discuss the arrangements for your absence.
What Should You Do After a Skills Assessment?
The written summary becomes particularly valuable when you start putting your findings into practice. Even one initial step can move your project forward, whether that's contacting a training centre, speaking with someone working in your chosen profession or comparing job opportunities in your area.
If you're considering a career change, examine the factors that will directly affect your daily life. Working hours, commuting, physical requirements and starting salaries matter just as much as the appeal of the job itself. It's better to understand these aspects before committing to a lengthy training programme.
Temporary employment can also provide an opportunity to discover a different working environment, provided your profile and qualifications meet the requirements. Our article on career changes through temporary employment explores this option.
You may also decide to remain in your current field with clearer expectations. Gaining a new qualification, becoming more independent or looking for a different type of assignment are all ways to prepare for your career development through temporary employment.
Keep a record of the steps you've taken and the responses you've received. If a follow-up meeting is scheduled, you'll be able to review your progress, discuss any difficulties and identify the decisions that still need to be made.
Similar articles
Advice
Skills to highlight to find a temporary work assignment!
03 October 2022 · 3 min reading time
Beyond your academic background or professional experiences, your future employer will place great importance on your skills.
Labor Law
Recruitment Tests: Which One Should You Use to Assess Candidates?
30 October 2026 · 5 min reading time
Which recruitment tests should you use? Explore different types of assessments, practical examples and best practices for evaluating candidates.
Advice
Temporary work: career change and professional reintegration
20 October 2023 · 4 min reading time
Whether you are looking to re-enter the job market or considering a career change, Staffmatch supports you in successfully carrying out your professional reintegration or career transition project.
Become a temp worker with Staffmatch!
OUR MOBILE APPS
Download the temp worker app
Download the business appDownload our temp worker appDownload our business app
Download the temp worker appDownload the business appDownload our temp worker appDownload our business app