Work-based training (AFEST) is recognised as a fully legitimate pedagogical approach by the law of 5 September 2018. For an AFEST programme to be valid, recognised and eligible for funding, it must be supported by a structured specification document. This document defines the objectives, requirements and conditions under which the training takes place. Understanding its components and the associated legal criteria means giving yourself the tools to deploy AFEST in compliance and maximise its benefits.
AFEST in Brief: Definition and Implications for Organisations
Training Grounded in the Reality of Work
AFEST was designed to train employees directly in their professional environment, particularly those whose skills needs are closely linked to their daily responsibilities. Its objective is twofold: to enable employees to develop their skills in a concrete context, and to contribute to the improvement of organisational performance.
The government emphasises the need for AFEST to coexist with other pedagogical formats. Organisations must integrate it into a blended learning pathway that includes face-to-face or remote learning actions. Integrated into a broader pathway, AFEST constitutes the field-based component: it complements formal learning without replacing it.
The Concrete Benefits for Employees and the Organisation
AFEST offers concrete benefits for all stakeholders. For employees, it allows new skills to be applied immediately in their real working context, which strengthens embedding and facilitates progression. By becoming active participants in their professional development, employees gain in motivation and engagement with the organisation.
For organisations, it allows the training budget to be optimised without compromising the quality of learning. It also promotes the development of transversal skills that conventional training struggles to cover effectively: communication, collaboration, time management and teamwork. These behavioural skills are acquired naturally in real working situations, over the course of the support provided.
The AFEST Specification Document: Role and Content
A Collaborative Document in Service of the Programme
The AFEST specification document is a framing document that defines the objectives, requirements and specific expectations relating to the deployment of an AFEST programme within an organisation. It constitutes the shared roadmap between all the participants involved in the training.
Its development results from a collaboration between the organisation, the trainers or tutors and the employees concerned by the training. This collective work ensures that the programme is grounded in the operational reality of the organisation and tailored to the specific needs of each learner. The specification document also guarantees rigorous implementation of the programme, in compliance with applicable legal obligations.
The 6 Structuring Elements of the Specification Document
Six components structure every AFEST specification document. The training objectives, the skills to be developed and the expected results at the end of the programme form the starting point. They define the direction towards which the entire programme must tend. Next comes a description of the group of employees concerned: their profiles, their specific needs and the characteristics of the target audience.
The professional context specifies the environment in which the training will take place: the reference activities, the professional situations selected for learning, and the specific characteristics of the role. The organisational arrangements cover the duration of the training, the start and end dates, the venue and the resources mobilised throughout the pathway. The pedagogical methods describe how the training is structured, what alternation between practical situations and reflective phases is planned and which tools are used. Finally, the evaluation criteria and monitoring arrangements specify how learner progress will be measured, at which stages and against which indicators.
The Legal Criteria to Be Met for a Recognised AFEST
The 6 Eligibility Conditions Under the Loi Avenir Professionnel
For a training action to be legally recognised as AFEST, it must satisfy six eligibility conditions defined by the Loi Avenir professionnel (art. L. 6313-2, Law no. 2018-771 of 5 September 2018).
The first is the analysis of the work activity: identifying the professional situations conducive to learning and favourable to the development of the targeted skills. The second is the design of a learning pathway oriented towards the professional world and targeting precise objectives. The third is the designation of a trainer who may bear the title of tutor, field coach, reference person or any equivalent title. The fourth is the implementation of reflective phases: structured periods in which the learner analyses the situations experienced and draws lessons from their experience. The fifth is the assessment of learning before, during and after the training, to measure progression and validate the acquisition of targeted skills. The sixth, finally, is the retention of evidence of the AFEST's delivery, by documenting the entire approach using supporting materials.
Traceability as a Guarantee of the Programme
This sixth condition deserves particular attention. Traceability requires that the entire AFEST approach be rigorously documented throughout the programme. These supporting materials, whether videos, emails, meeting records or any other medium, serve to demonstrate the reality of the programme to funding bodies and oversight authorities.
A dedicated training logbook or a training management platform can facilitate this traceability. Centralising pathway data not only makes it possible to meet legal requirements, but also to assess the effectiveness of the programme and adjust future deployments on the basis of factual data.
