According to Edflex's 2025 Barometer on Professional Training, 98% of employees consider the updating of their skills to be a major challenge. In a context of accelerated skills obsolescence, organisations that remain competitive and innovative are those that make continuing training a strategic lever. Agile methods, soft skills, funding programmes and pathway management: here are the keys to structuring and deploying effective continuing training.
Continuing Training: A Strategic Lever for Agile Organisations
Definition and Current Challenges
Continuing training within organisations refers to all the training actions offered after an initial professional start in working life. It covers both upskilling in a current role and professional retraining or the certification of critical competencies. In an agile environment, it promotes the adaptability of employees and their capacity to evolve with market transformations.
The current context reinforces its importance: the rise of artificial intelligence, the evolution of employee expectations and the individualisation of development pathways are transforming traditional training approaches. New forms of learning are emerging, such as gamification, which integrates game-based mechanics into pathways to strengthen team engagement and optimise knowledge retention.
Funding Mechanisms and Practical Arrangements
The funding of professional training represents several tens of billions of euros in France, distributed between organisations (21%), regions or the State (18%) and the Approved Joint Collecting Bodies (OPCO, 44%). The Personal Training Account (CPF) allows every employee to access training throughout their professional life, in accordance with the Labour Code.
The Skills Development Plan (PDC) defines the training actions from which employees can benefit within their organisation. According to the CNFCE Barometer on Training Trends 2025, 69% of organisations have put a PDC in place. The Individual Training Leave (CIF) and the skills assessment leave facilitate access to continuing training, whilst teaching or research leave allows an employee to undertake an innovative activity or relevant research.
Integrating Agile Training Into the Organisation
Agile Methods in Service of Skills Development
Continuing training within organisations draws on proven frameworks and methods. Approaches such as Scrum, Lean and Kanban enable a smooth transition of organisations towards more flexible and responsive ways of working. These programmes offer advanced professional development for teams, in both the private and public sectors.
Employees trained in agile methods anticipate changes and acquire expertise that they then pass on to new recruits, contributing to the sustainability of the activity. According to available data, 98% of organisations that have adopted the agile methodology have seen a positive development in their activities (source: Echometerapp).
Formats and Tools for Managing Pathways
Continuing training adapts to a wide variety of formats: online courses, personal and professional development programmes and certification of critical competencies. The validation of learning gives rise to recognised professional certifications. Cross-company and in-company formats adapt to the specific characteristics of each organisation. 88% of CPF training in the field of computing takes place remotely, a sign of the growing prominence of online learning in technical sectors.
A skills-tracking tool makes it possible to manage these development journeys in real time, by cross-referencing training data, competency levels achieved and development objectives. Verifying the legitimacy and pedagogical quality of the chosen training provider is a structurally important step before any deployment.
Soft Skills and Learning Communities: The Levers of Transformation
Developing the Behavioural Agility of Employees
Continuing training within organisations plays a central role in the development of soft skills, behavioural competencies that are increasingly decisive in sectors undergoing rapid transformation. Problem-solving, critical thinking and collaboration are among the most sought-after capabilities in agile environments.
Learning communities are particularly well-suited to the development of these competencies: they promote harmonious working with colleagues and a positive contribution to the needs of different teams. Participants thereby develop their agility and adaptability through concrete working situations and peer exchanges.
Measuring and Steering the Impact of Continuing Training
Implementing structured continuing training requires regular monitoring of its impact. Evaluating training makes it possible to refine the choice of modules and adjust pathways in line with the results observed. Skills management tools facilitate personalised real-time monitoring and make it possible to cross-reference training data with individual development objectives.
The combination of soft skills and hard skills, steered by a competency framework, ensures the coherence of development pathways. The aim is to align the development of employees with the organisation's vision and strategic priorities, so that continuing training is a lasting investment rather than simply an administrative obligation.
