In France, vocational training has traditionally been centred around initial training that prepares people to enter the labour market, and continuing training aimed at people who are already in or are entering active professional life. A person's initial training is usually considered to be complete when he or she has been out of the education system for at least a year: the distinction between initial training and continuing training depends on the point at which a person starts a course, not on the type of course attended.

Since the 1970s, organisations such as Unesco and Eurostat have been engaged in the definition and harmonisation of apprenticeship training at the international level. Thus the following three terms have been coined: formal training, non-formal training, and informal apprenticeship. The dividing line between formal and non-formal training is similar to that between initial and continuing training. Formal and non-formal training have been incorporated into the French national statistics system in addition to initial and continuous training. The distinction between them is based primarily on whether or not the training leads to the award of a diploma.

Irrespective of the sources and concepts employed, access to continuing training or non-formal vocational training in France is still unequal. Managers, highly qualified workers, prime-age workers and employees of large organisations receive more training than others.