The discrepancies have been identified, the critical positions pinpointed, and your versatility matrix shows red on two production lines. You know where the problem lies. Now comes the hardest part: turning this assessment into a skills development plan that stands the test of time, with a schedule, a budget, and follow-up that will last beyond December.
In production, creating this plan involves dealing with constraints that no generic model takes into account, such as shifts, seasonality, audits, and employee turnover.
What is a skills development plan?
The Skills Development Plan (SDP) includes all training programs that an employer organizes for its employees. The term replaced «training plan» on the 1ster January 2019, when the Professional Future Act (known as the Pénicaud Act) has overhauled the framework for vocational training in France.
The PDC may now include traditional training—whether in-house or provided by an external organization—as well as skills assessments, the validation of prior learning (VAE) process, and AFEST (On-the-Job Training). This format is of particular interest in industrial settings, since it allows operators to be trained directly at their workstations, without having to take them off the production line for three days.
This applies to all employees, regardless of their contract, permanent employees, temporary employees, apprentices, and, in some cases, temporary agency workers. The employer selects the beneficiaries based on the needs identified in the field.
The 2019 transition also eliminated the former distinction between Category 1 (job adaptation) and Category 2 (skills development), and ihas officially joined AFEST within recognized training frameworks. The underlying principle, however, has not changed: to organize and plan the skill development of your teams.
What the Professional Future Act has changed
Click on the map on the right to highlight what's new.
Beyond the name change, the scope has expanded. The underlying logic has not changed : Organize and plan for the teams' professional development, but with more flexible arrangements.
Why set up a skills development plan?
In manufacturing, skills are constantly changing. For example, a new quality standard coming into effect, a change in equipment on a production line, or an experienced operator retiring and taking with them expertise that no one else possesses—there are many situations that can compromise skills coverage, and they are rarely predictable without a structured plan.
You’ve probably experienced this before: the day when the only operator capable of setting up a machine goes on sick leave, no one steps in to take over, and the production line slows down.
That's what a skills plan is for.
It helps organize the upstream skills development, rather than reacting in a rush. It serves to bridge the gaps identified during the evaluations, to expand the versatility operators so that an absence no longer blocks a line, and to provide employees with opportunities for growth, which directly impacts the customer loyalty.
For sites subject to regular audits (ISO 9001, IATF 16949, NADCAP in the aerospace industry), the PDC also provides documented traceability for each training session and each certification renewal. When the auditor requires proof that an operator is qualified for their position, the answer is in the plan.
Employers' legal obligations
There is no law that formally requires the creation of a PDC. However, Article L6321-1 of the Labor Code requires employers to ensure that each employee is able to adapt to their position, including when tools or processes change.
In production, this ranges from learning to operate a new machine to renewing an electrical certification. The same article requires ensuring that employees remain employable in the face of technological and organizational changes—which, in the age of Industry 4.0 and the digitization of processes, applies to virtually every position.
Without a PDC, it is difficult to prove that these obligations are being met in the event of a labor dispute or a labor inspection. This is what makes the plan virtually indispensable in practice, even when it is not required by law.
Two points are added for companies with more than 50 employees. The ESC (Social and Economic Committee) must be consulted each year on the training guidelines and content of the PDC. And professional interviews, which are mandatory every two years, feed directly into the plan's needs, by providing feedback on the development aspirations of each employee.
5 steps to building your skills development plan
You don’t build a PDC by simply listing training programs in a spreadsheet. The process starts on the ground, collects data, cross-references it with the strategy, and results in an action plan that managers can actually implement.
From the field to the action plan, step by step
Click on a step to view its details and points to watch out for.
Know where you stand: who can do what, at what level, and in which positions. We compare the skills required for each position with those actually possessed, on a scale of 1 to 4, with the employee’s rating cross-referenced against the manager’s rating.
Start by taking stock of existing skills
Before deciding what to train for, you need to know where you stand—who has what skills, at what level, and in which positions. In an industrial setting, this assessment involves a skills mapping which cross-references the skills required by each job with those actually possessed by your operators.
The competency assessment grid is the core tool for this exercise. Each employee is rated on a scale, typically from 1 to 4 (training, independent, fully proficient, expert), and this rating is cross-checked with the manager’s assessment to neutralize self-assessment biases. The result provides a useful snapshot of the strengths and gaps in your workforce.
One common pitfall we see on nearly every site we work with is a checklist that’s filled out once and then never revisited—which quickly becomes less valuable than an incomplete but regularly updated assessment. Don’t aim for completeness right from the start; begin with critical positions and expiring clearances.
You have your photo.
Map Your Skills without spending the whole year there
Compare required and acquired skills for each position, identify gaps in your workforce at a glance, and keep a constantly updated overview—not a spreadsheet that’s filled out once and then forgotten.
Book a demoAccording to a study by La Fabrique de l’industrie, only 35 % of blue-collar workers have access to continuing education, compared with 66 % of managers. The initial assessment is used to target initiatives where they are most needed, rather than routinely providing training to groups that are already well-served.
Define priorities based on strategy
Not all issues require the same level of urgency. Having only one authorized operator at a critical workstation poses an immediate risk that must be addressed in the coming weeks. Preparing a team for a new production line that will start up in six months is strategic but less urgent. Renewing mandatory certifications before the deadline is a regulatory requirement and non-negotiable.
Prioritization involves balancing operational urgency with company objectives. If a ramp-up is planned, versatility takes priority. If a quality audit is scheduled in two months, regulatory training comes first. In any case, involve your line managers in this process—they’re the ones who see on a daily basis which positions are vulnerable, which operators could benefit from upskilling, and which skills are at risk of being lost with upcoming departures.
If we had to secure only one station first, it would always be the same one—the critical station manned by a single authorized operator. In the workshop, this station causes a line failure more often than any other, and is the most expensive to repair in an emergency.
The rest follows from that.
Knowing what to tackle first doesn't necessarily tell you how to do it without running out of lines.
Choosing the right training courses
The PDC isn't just about sending people to the studio. The methods have become more diverse, and from a production standpoint, that's good news, because taking a camera operator off their usual assignment for several days isn't always realistic.
[Image, photograph : an operator trained directly on the production line by a mentor, to illustrate the AFEST described in this paragraph. Image caption: Realistic photograph taken in an industrial workshop; an experienced operator demonstrates a technical maneuver to a younger colleague in front of a production machine, natural light, a concrete and professional atmosphere, no visible logos, medium shot, high definition.]
L'AFEST (on-the-job training) is undoubtedly the most suitable format in an industrial setting. The operator learns at their workstation, under real-world conditions, with alternating phases of hands-on practice and debriefing. Mentoring and job shadowing remain effective tools for transferring know-how from experienced employees to new hires, provided they are formalized sufficiently to be included in the PDC. Competency-based training complements these approaches by tailoring each training session to the specific skill gaps of the individual employee rather than following a one-size-fits-all program. And for theoretical content (safety, standards, processes), e-learning and short modules help avoid tying up teams for too long.
Many people discover this during their first audit: an AFEST is only valid in the auditor’s eyes if a designated trainer is assigned and each session is documented in writing. Without this framework, even if it took place, it doesn’t count. Then there’s the challenge of finding a time slot in the schedule, which is far from easy on the production floor.
Schedule and budget planning
As long as the plan doesn’t have specific dates, it remains nothing more than a list of good intentions. However, setting a training schedule for production requires taking into account the realities of the site, seasonal peaks in the agri-food industry, scheduled audits, shift rotations, and maintenance periods. No one will conduct training in the middle of a busy production season, so it’s essential to identify realistic time slots and spread the activities out over the course of the year.
The PDC generally covers one year, or three years if a company agreement so provides. In terms of the budget, four items must be quantified: training costs, payroll costs for time spent in training, logistical expenses, and the indirect cost of replacing the operator while they are in training. In our experience, at the sites we support, it’s this last item that causes the budget to go over, because it’s often overlooked when the budget is first drawn up. Include it in your initial cost estimate; otherwise, you’ll discover the cost overrun later in the year, when it’s too late to make adjustments.
Key points to remember about financing. Companies with fewer than 50 employees can have all or part of their training plan funded by their OPCO. For the manufacturing sector, this is OPCO 2i which manages the pooled funds. There is a deadline that must not be missed: applications must be submitted at least one month before the start of the training program.
The final step before implementation is consultation with the CSE, which is mandatory for companies with 50 or more employees. The committee must approve the training guidelines and the plan’s content. Once the plan has been approved and launched, the key to its success now lies in how you implement it month after month.
Monitor and measure results
A plan that isn't followed ends up in a shared folder that no one ever opens. For the PDC to produce results, the training follow-up must be incorporated into day-to-day operations, not limited to the December financial statement.
Useful metrics remain simple: completion rates for scheduled training, skills acquired or strengthened, changes in the versatility score by team, and feedback from managers and operators. In production, the most telling measure remains the ability to assign staff. After a few months of implementing the plan, are you able to cover more positions with your current workforce? Is it easier to find replacements when employees are absent?
A quarterly meeting is enough to get back on track, postpone a training session that production schedules won’t allow, move up another one because an audit is approaching, or realign priorities after an unexpected departure. An hour per quarter with your team leaders is all it takes—provided they come to the meeting with their variances already reported rather than discovering them during the meeting. This ability to adjust is what distinguishes a useful plan from a theoretical one.
A plan that lasts all year long, not just in December
Completion rates, team versatility scores, resource allocation capacity: Track your metrics in real time and arrive at the quarterly meeting with any variances already reported—not just discovered during the meeting.
Book a demoWhat should a skills development plan contain?
No specific format is required by law. However, for a PDC to be truly useful on a day-to-day basis, it is advisable to document each training activity with a minimum amount of information:
- Training title and target skills
- The employees in question, by name, position, or team
- The chosen method: in-house training, external training, AFEST, mentoring, or e-learning
- Duration and scheduled dates
- Estimated budget and source of funding
- Status: Planned, In Progress, Completed, or Postponed
One distinction carries significant weight in practice: the distinction between mandatory training and are not mandatory. The former, required by a collective agreement, safety regulation, or standard, take place during working hours, with full pay. The latter may, with the employee’s consent, be held outside of working hours, up to a limit of 30 hours per year. At an industrial site, most training falls into the first category.
How can you finance your skills development plan?
The financing structure depends on the size of your business and the industry in which you operate, and there is a clear difference between an SME and a large corporation.
SMEs with fewer than 50 employees benefit from full or partial coverage by their OPCO, depending on the funds available. For industrial branches (metallurgy, chemicals, plastics, food processing, pharmaceuticals), this means OPCO 2i which centralizes this funding, with terms that vary each year depending on the industry's priorities.
For companies with 50 or more employees, the PDC is funded from the company’s own budget through a one-time contribution for vocational training. However, additional funding is available. The ESF+ (European Social Fund Plus), available starting in 2025 through the OPCOs, can cover up to 50 % of training costs, and it has become the primary source of co-financing in 2026 following the discontinuation of the FNE-Formation. Agefiph provides support for employees with disabilities, and some regions offer additional assistance.
[Interactive module, comparison tool : a selector that directs the user to the funding options applicable to their company size, based on the two scenarios described above. Generation prompt: creates a responsive web module in HTML, CSS, and JS, with a toggle button labeled «Fewer than 50 employees» / «50 or more employees .» Depending on the selection, it displays the corresponding funding programs (OPCO 2i, full or partial coverage for SMEs; company funds, ESF+ up to 50 %, Agefiph, regional aid for large companies), with a line of eligibility criteria for each. Clear, institutional style, no logo.]
A piece of advice we often hear from training managers we meet in the field is: contact your OPCO before finalizing the plan, not after. The advisors are familiar with industry priorities and available funding, and they’ll help you avoid putting together a proposal that doesn’t fit any of the criteria.
Manage your skills development plan with the right tool
Most companies start their PDC in Excel. For a site with 20 people and stable skill sets, that works just fine. Problems arise when the scope expands: multiple team leaders each maintaining their own version of the file, authorizations whose expiration dates no one checks, and updates that fall behind because manual data entry always takes a back seat to the day’s urgent tasks. After a few months, the matrix no longer reflects reality, and the plan loses its value.
Back to square one.
Skills management software addresses these limitations by centralizing data in a single repository, including a skills matrix, training tracking, and automatic alerts regarding authorization management upcoming deadlines, and team-level versatility dashboards. Each manager can access the information they need in real time, without having to wait for someone else to update a file.
Switch from a spreadsheet to the real-time control
Deviations, authorizations, and versatility all in a single system, with automatic expiration alerts. See how our industrial clients manage their PDC on a daily basis, using a case similar to yours.
Book a demoConclusion
A well-managed PDC is evident on the shop floor: operators capable of working in multiple positions, up-to-date clearances that eliminate last-minute rushes, and substitutions that no longer bring production to a standstill. The result is reflected in your actual ability to reassign your teams, week after week.
The method consists of five steps
- assess existing skills
- prioritize discrepancies based on strategy and urgency
- choosing the right training options
- plan a realistic schedule
- monitor and adjust over the course of several months.
Thorough monitoring and the ability to make adjustments when the situation on the ground requires it are key to success, because the situation on the ground always demands it.
To transition from a spreadsheet to real-time monitoring, Request a demo of Mercateam and see how our industrial customers manage their PDC on a daily basis.
