After leaving school or university, there are many ways of accessing training, either as part of training organised by employers or by self-financing. People can also finance their training through available public or mutualised funds. The law of 5 September 2018 ‘for the freedom to choose one's professional future’ (« pour la liberté de choisir son avenir professionnel » in French) reformed job-related training in France, in particular by creating France Compétences, a new governance authority, and freeing up access by individuals to their Personal Training Account.

Some of these programmes allow users to choose their own training, while others require the agreement of the employer or the public employment service.

The 2018 reform increased the range of retraining schemes available to employees, adding options to the regular staff training employers have to provide. The Skills Investment Plan has helped to transform the training available to jobseekers. Both employed and unemployed people have been entitled to free career development advice.