Indicator 8 — Entry-level assessment and positioning
You must define procedures for positioning and assessing prior attainment at entry, to verify the match between the beneficiary's profile, the prerequisites and the target objectives, and to adapt the pathway where needed.
Applies to: OF · CFA · VAE · CBC
Indicator 8 closes criterion 2 with a simple question: how do you check, before or at the start of the service, that the beneficiary is in the right place? Entry positioning verifies prerequisites, measures prior attainment and, where necessary, adapts the pathway: module exemption, reinforcement, redirection. It applies to every category of provision and carries a major non-conformity.
What the auditor actually checks on the day
The auditor looks for a procedure and its application traces:
- The positioning procedure: which tool (questionnaire, test, interview, self-assessment), at what moment (before entry or at the start), who administers it, and what is done with it?
- Proportionality: the reading guide accepts positioning adapted to the nature of the service. A technical test for an advanced software course, an interview for VAE support, a self-assessment questionnaire for a one-day awareness session.
- Individual traces: completed questionnaires, test results, interview summaries, dated and attached to the audited beneficiary files.
- Use of the results: this is the differentiator. If positioning reveals a gap (prerequisites not met, attainment above the module level), the auditor wants to see the consequence: adapted pathway, extra module, redirection, or a justified enrolment refusal.
- Specifics: in apprenticeship, positioning may lead to adjusting the contract duration; in VAE, it corresponds to the feasibility review of the candidate's history; in skills assessments, to the preliminary interview.
Achieving compliance, step by step
- Set the rule per service type in a short procedure: tool, moment, owner, decision thresholds, possible consequences.
- Create your tools: an online self-assessment questionnaire (10–15 questions targeting prerequisites and prior attainment), an interview grid, a corrected technical test.
- Wire positioning into enrolment: no beneficiary enters a service without a positioning trace. Automate sending the questionnaire on quote approval.
- Plan the adaptation loop: a "decision following positioning" field (standard pathway, adjustment, redirection) in your beneficiary file materialises the use of results.
- Archive in every file: the completed positioning, the decision taken, and the link to the possibly adapted programme.
Field advice
First confusion to avoid: positioning (indicator 8) and needs analysis (indicator 4) are not redundant. The need answers "why this service?", positioning answers "where does the beneficiary stand relative to the prerequisites and objectives?". One questionnaire can cover both, provided the two dimensions appear distinctly.
Second: do not overdramatise. A 40-question test for a half-day introduction is counter-productive and unsustainable. Assumed proportionality, written into your procedure, is perfectly defensible in an audit.
Third: show at least one real adaptation case if you have one — a redirected beneficiary, a lightened module — nothing proves better that the mechanism works. For a new entrant with no history, a clear procedure and ready tools are enough: the auditor assesses the design at the initial audit, then its actual application at surveillance.
The evidence the auditor expects
- P.1Written positioning procedure per service type (tool, moment, owner, decisions)
- P.2Blank and completed self-assessment questionnaires or entry tests
- P.3Dated positioning interview summaries attached to beneficiary files
- P.4Traces of decisions following positioning: pathway adjustment, exemption, redirection
- P.5Prerequisite verification grids used at enrolment
- P.6For CFAs: positionings that led to adjusting the apprenticeship contract duration
Common mistakes in audits
- No positioning at all: beneficiaries enter training on mere registration
- Positioning carried out but never used: no adapted pathway, no traced decision
- A single, disproportionate tool, identical for a short awareness session and a certifying pathway
- Complete confusion between needs analysis (indicator 4) and entry assessment
- Positioning questionnaires undated or filled in after the fact for the audit
- Prerequisites announced on the programme but never verified at entry
FAQ — indicator 8
+What is the entry positioning required by Qualiopi indicator 8?
It is the assessment, before or at the start of the service, of the beneficiary's prior attainment and prerequisites against the target objectives: questionnaire, test, interview or self-assessment. Its result must be traced and used to confirm or adapt the pathway.
+Is positioning mandatory even for a short course?
Yes, but proportionate: for a one-day awareness session with no prerequisites, a few self-assessment questions suffice. What matters is that the procedure exists, is applied systematically and leaves a trace in the beneficiary's file.
+What distinguishes the entry test from the final assessment?
Positioning (indicator 8) measures the entry level to adapt the pathway; the final assessment (indicator 11) measures objective attainment at the end. Using the same tool at both moments is actually good practice: the before/after comparison demonstrates progress.
+How do you handle a candidate who lacks the prerequisites?
Your procedure must provide for the possible outcomes: prior reinforcement, pathway adjustment, redirection to another service, or a justified refusal. Trace the decision in the file: that adaptation loop is precisely what the auditor wants to see working.