How do you get AI training for your staff funded by your OPCO?

What is an OPCO, and how do you find yours?

An OPCO (opérateur de compétences, or skills operator) supports companies with workforce training. It funds apprenticeships, helps identify training needs and pays for part of employee training. Each company belongs to exactly one OPCO, the one that covers its industry.

There are eleven of them, approved by the French state since 2019: Afdas, Akto, Atlas, Constructys, Ocapiat, Opco 2i, Opco EP (small local businesses), Opco Mobilités, Opco Santé, Opcommerce and Uniformation.

To find yours, start from your collective bargaining agreement and its four-digit IDCC code. Your payroll team or accountant will know it. France compétences, which passes part of the OPCOs' funding to them, runs a "Quel est mon OPCO" lookup tool and publishes a table matching each establishment (by SIRET number) to its OPCO, last updated September 24, 2026. Service-public.fr also links to a search tool by industry.

Who pays, depending on company size?

Since the 2018 reform, pooled funds for employee training have been concentrated on companies with fewer than 50 employees, France compétences notes. For them, the OPCO can cover tuition, and sometimes part of salaries and travel, lodging and meal costs, within the industry's criteria and the funds available.

From 50 employees up, those statutory funds no longer cover your plan. Two sources remain: contributions set by an industry training agreement, if your industry has one, and your own voluntary payments to the OPCO. In 2024, according to France compétences, companies with more than 50 employees paid 67% of their training costs on average, against 38% across all company sizes.

These courses are short: 19 hours and €568 on average in 2024, of which €270 was tuition (report published February 26, 2026). Caps are set industry by industry, so check your industry's funding criteria on your OPCO's website.

Since October 1, 2026, the VAT rules that apply to OPCOs have changed. At Opco EP, for example, a company may now pay the training provider itself and then get the pre-tax amount reimbursed, depending on what the funding agreement says; eligibility criteria and caps are unchanged. Plan for the cash flow.

What do OPCOs offer on AI in 2026?

The OPCOs that service and manufacturing SMEs deal with most often all have something on AI. What their pages said on November 5, 2026:

• Atlas (financial services and consulting): its IA-tlas plan covers 100% of tuition for AI modules at companies with fewer than 50 employees, while funds last, for requests filed by December 15, 2026 and courses starting by December 31, 2026. Atlas also announces European Social Fund (ESF+) co-funding of 50% of tuition for AI training in 2026 and 2027, and a short online "responsible AI" course.
• Akto (labor-intensive services): its Espace Formation catalog added an introduction to AI in 2026. Companies under 50 employees get up to 100% of tuition covered; larger ones get negotiated rates and possible funding depending on their industry.
• Opco EP (small local businesses): a one-day course, "Getting started with AI in a work context," open only to employees of member companies, with sessions from November 2026 to August 2027. In the Occitanie region, the "New digital uses" program, co-funded with the state, prioritizes AI for companies under 250 employees through December 2026.
• Opco 2i (manufacturing): Clic&Tech, an assessment and support service covering digital tools, cybersecurity and AI, plus a program with Pix that's free for members, with AI as one of its four topics.

What must the training provider have?

The training provider you choose must hold Qualiopi certification. The requirement comes from the law of September 5, 2018 on the freedom to choose one's professional future, written into Article L. 6316-1 of the French Labor Code: any provider funded by an OPCO, the state, a region, the Caisse des dépôts or France Travail must be certified. It has applied since January 1, 2022.

Without that certification, the OPCO can't fund the course, Opco EP points out. Ask the provider for its certificate and expiry date before you sign. An uncertified provider can still train your team, but you pay for it yourself.

What are the steps, in order?

Start early: some budgets close before year-end. Opco EP's fund for companies under 50 employees that haven't had funded training since 2023 takes requests until November 30, 2026; Atlas's IA-tlas plan until December 15, 2026. The steps:

• Find your OPCO and read your industry's 2026 funding criteria: who's eligible, course lengths, caps.
• Define the need: who gets trained, on which tasks, with which approved tools. The request asks for the training goal and content, such as the course outline.
• Pick a Qualiopi-certified provider and ask for an outline and a quote.
• File the funding request in your OPCO's online portal before the course starts. Opco EP advises a month ahead to get an answer before the start date; Constructys requires a complete file fifteen calendar days before, or the course won't be funded.
• Wait for the funding agreement: it says who pays the provider, the OPCO directly or you, with reimbursement afterward.
• After the course, upload the completion certificate and the provider's invoice. The OPCO pays or reimburses up to the agreed amount.

What about the CPF, FNE-Formation or regional aid?

The CPF (compte personnel de formation, a personal training account) belongs to the employee, who uses it for a certified course listed in the national RNCP or in France compétences' Répertoire spécifique. Several active certifications in that register cover using generative AI at work. Since February 26, 2026, CPF spending on a Répertoire spécifique certification has been capped at €1,500.

The employee pays a flat €150 contribution, indexed to inflation every January 1, unless the employer tops up the account (service-public.fr, page checked June 27, 2026). The 2027 draft budget plans to raise it in some cases.

FNE-Formation, the state program that funded companies' digital transition, is closed: suspended in 2025, it isn't being brought back in 2026, according to the annex to the 2026 draft budget. Only agreements already signed are still being paid out.

Regions and Agefiph play a marginal role: under 1% of the funds committed through OPCOs, according to France compétences. Ask your region, but don't build your plan around it.

Does the EU AI Act require you to train staff?

Not through any mandatory course. Article 4 of the EU AI Act requires companies whose employees use AI to support their staff's AI literacy. Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, the "Digital Omnibus", which took effect on July 27, 2026, rewrote that article: companies take measures without having to guarantee any specific level for each person.

According to the European Commission's Q&A, updated October 20, 2026, no particular training is mandated and no certificate is required. Companies can keep an internal record of what they did. National authorities have been enforcing this since August 2, 2026.

A course funded by your OPCO is one possible measure among others, alongside an AI acceptable use policy or hands-on support with the tools. Keep a record: outline, attendee list, completion certificate. The regulation is covered in detail on the page about AI Act obligations.

What kind of AI training actually helps?

Funded courses average 19 hours. Spend them on the real tasks of each job rather than on a general overview. A few pointers:

• Start from what the team actually does: answering a client, summarizing a file, drafting a proposal.
• Use the tools the company has approved, with its rules on confidential data written into an AI policy.
• Show the mistakes: an AI can make up a figure or a source. People learn to go back to the document and check.
• Keep going after the course: people learn most by using a tool that cites its sources, because every answer can be checked against the original document.
• Name someone to collect the team's questions and keep the policy current.

Where does Saména fit in?

Saména doesn't run training courses. We build custom AI agents that automate the data-heavy work in your company: email, quotes, case files, documents.

These agents cite their sources, and someone at your company approves their work before anything goes out. Your team learns the limits of AI by using it: they see where every claim comes from and catch mistakes. Any sentence in an answer that states a figure or a proper name found in none of the documents the agent read is removed before it's displayed; this check compares figures and names, it doesn't judge meaning.

Funding for AI projects themselves is covered on the page about AI grants. A free 30-minute call, with no commitment, is enough to see which first agent would save your team time.

Frequently asked

Will an OPCO fund a ChatGPT or Copilot course?

Yes, if the course meets your industry's funding criteria, is delivered by a Qualiopi-certified provider and the funding request is filed before it starts. For companies under 50 employees, several OPCOs have AI-specific offers in 2026.

Can a company with more than 50 employees get AI training funded?

Yes, but not from the OPCO's statutory funds, which are reserved for companies under 50 employees. That leaves industry agreement contributions where they exist, your own voluntary payments, and one-off offers such as the ESF+ co-funding Atlas announces for 2026 and 2027.

How far ahead of the course do you need to file the request?

Always before it starts. Opco EP advises a month ahead to get an answer before the start date; Constructys requires a complete file fifteen calendar days before. The rule depends on your OPCO.

Is AI training mandatory under the EU AI Act?

No particular training is mandated and no certificate is required, according to the European Commission. Companies have to take measures to support their staff's AI literacy and can keep an internal record of what they did. A funded course is one such measure.

How much does an employee pay for AI training through the CPF in 2026?

A flat €150 contribution, unless the employer tops up the account. For a certification in the Répertoire spécifique, CPF funds can be used up to €1,500 since February 26, 2026.

Does FNE-Formation still fund digital transition training?

No. It was suspended in 2025 and the state has no plans to bring it back in 2026; only agreements already signed are still being paid.