Training programme (programme de formation) in France: mandatory content and template

A quote accepted, an agreement signed — one document is still missing, and it is the one most closely scrutinised during a Qualiopi audit: the one describing exactly what the trainee will learn. The training programme is not an optional marketing brochure — its content is set by law, and its absence or inconsistency ranks among the most frequent non-conformities found during audits. Here is what it must contain, how to build it once and reuse it, and how it fits alongside your training agreement.

What the law requires: the pre-established programme under article L6353-1

French labour law is explicit: every professional training action must be delivered in accordance with a pre-established programme. This article states that the programme, built around determined objectives, must specify:

• the prior knowledge level required to follow the training;
• the pedagogical, technical and supervisory resources deployed;
• the means for monitoring the action’s delivery and assessing its results.

This requirement applies to every training action, regardless of format — in person, virtual classroom, e-learning, or blended — and regardless of the funder. A provider unable to produce a written programme for a given session is, by construction, in breach of this obligation.

Information owed to trainees before enrolment

Beyond the pedagogical content itself, the law requires that a baseline of information be made available to the trainee or apprentice before final enrolment:

• the training’s objectives and content;
• the list of trainers and instructors involved in the action;
• the schedule;
• the assessment methods;
• the contact details of the person handling trainee relations;
• the internal rules applicable to the training.

In practice, this baseline is almost always gathered into a single document handed out beforehand — the detailed programme — which simplifies producing evidence during an audit: one document satisfies both the pedagogical requirement and the prior-information obligation. The internal rules that should be attached to it or referenced from it are themselves a separate mandatory document once your provider delivers more than 80 hours of training per year.

The eight elements every programme should include

To turn these legal requirements into an operational document, structure every programme around these sections:

Section	Expected content
Title and objectives	A precise title and operational, assessable objectives — “be able to…”, never “raise awareness of…”
Target audience and prerequisites	Expected profile, required prior knowledge level, or an explicit statement of no prerequisites
Content and sequencing	Detailed modules or sequences, duration of each, pedagogical order
Format and duration	Delivery format (in person, remote, blended), total duration, dates or delivery period
Pedagogical and technical resources	Materials, tools, platform used, facilitation methods
Assessment methods	Nature of assessments, success criteria, targeted outcome (certificate of attendance, certification)
Trainers	Identity, qualifications or references of the people delivering the training
Accessibility	Adaptation arrangements for trainees with disabilities

This last point ties directly into the requirements around the disability referent: a programme that mentions no possible adaptation arrangements will systematically raise a question from an auditor.

Catalogue programme or bespoke programme: where to draw the line

Most providers work with two logics side by side:

• The catalogue programme, used as-is for open, multi-company sessions bringing together trainees with similar profiles. The same standardised document can legitimately serve several successive sessions.
• The bespoke programme, built or adjusted for a specific client, business context, or prerequisite level. In this case, the programme must reflect that customisation — reworded objectives, adapted content, a specific entry positioning.

Confusing the two is a common mistake: delivering reworked content without changing a word of the written programme creates a gap between what was sold, what was taught, and what the auditor reads on file. This consistency is exactly what indicator 10 on service adaptation checks, after indicator 9 on delivery conditions has confirmed that the announced logistics match reality.

The link to Qualiopi: what indicator 6 checks

The training programme is one of the most frequently requested pieces of evidence during an audit, because it feeds directly into several indicators of the Référentiel National Qualité:

• indicator 6 on adapted content and methods checks that the proposed content genuinely matches the stated objectives and target audience;
• indicator 5 on operational objectives checks that objectives are phrased in an assessable way, not just declaratively;
• indicator 8 on entry positioning cross-checks the prerequisites stated in the programme against the positioning arrangements actually implemented.

An auditor who spots a gap between the presented programme, the signed agreement, and the session’s attendance sheet will almost automatically raise a non-conformity — so the programme is a document to keep continuously up to date, not one written once and forgotten.

The most common audit mistakes

1. Non-assessable objectives. “Raise awareness of”, “discover”, “get familiar with” let no one — neither the trainee nor the auditor — objectively verify what was actually acquired.
2. A programme that is never updated. Content reworked during the year without the written document following leaves an inconsistent trail across several sessions of the same training.
3. No programme at all for internal or improvised training. The obligation applies from the very first session, including for an action delivered internally for a single beneficiary.
4. A gap between the announced and the actual duration. The programme must remain a faithful reflection of what is actually delivered, or it loses its evidentiary value.
5. No mention of disability accessibility, even though this is one of the first points an auditor checks under criterion 6 of the reference framework.

Building a reusable programme template

The most efficient approach is to build a single reusable template, covering the eight sections above, that you duplicate and adapt for every new training course. This saves considerable time compared with drafting from scratch for each session, and guarantees that no mandatory item is forgotten — a point auditors systematically check at the very start of the documentary audit.

Take action

The Complete Qualiopi Kit includes a ready-to-customise training programme template, compliant with article L6353-1 and aligned with the expectations of indicators 5, 6, 8 and 10 of the reference framework — alongside the 32 evidence templates expected during the audit (€297, 14-day guarantee, documents in French). Just starting out? The ebook Créer son organisme de formation en 30 jours walks through building your first programmes step by step, or choose the complete pack of kit + ebook.