Since July 1, 2021, certification bodies with a certification registered with the RS or RNCP must carry out a “certification attachment”. That is to say, the titles issued must be filed with the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, within three months after the certification is issued.
This is a new obligation that certifiers must fulfill. Otherwise, they face sanctions that can go as far as the dereferencing of certifications.
Summary:
- Who is concerned?
- The objective of this new obligation
- What information should be transmitted and within what time frame?
- How to transmit information
- The consequences of non-transmission
Who is concerned with the certification hook?
Any organization that has at least one RN or RNCP certification is concerned. The use of the CPF system to finance training is not taken into account. The important thing is registration with France Compétences. Certifiers must therefore transmit information relating to all qualifications issued to learners. Certifications obtained through apprenticeship and the professionalization contract are also concerned.
Please note that this obligation is that of the certifiers. If you are a training organization that has established a partnership in order to be eligible for the CPF, it is not up to you to take this step. However, the certifier may ask you to send them the relevant information.
Certifications outside the RS and RNCP directories are not currently affected by the process, but this should affect them in the near future.
The objective of this new certification
The objective of the certification attachment is to enable the creation of an orientation, training and skills passport for all French citizens. In concrete terms, each person will be able to consult this passport to find all the information relating to the training followed, the acquired professional experience and the qualifications held. They will then be able to transform them into a CV whose data will be guaranteed by the Caisse des Dépôts. The interest is therefore to have a certified CV, which limits the possibilities of false information such as false training or diplomas.
The information will also make it possible to construct indicators to enable users of My Training Account to better orient themselves and choose their training.
What information should be transmitted and within what time frame?
The order of May 21, 2021 presents information relating to the transmission of data by certifiers. Certifiers have three months from the date of issue of the certification to take the step.
The information to be transmitted includes:
- Birth name, first name and usual name of the holder
- Holder's gender
- Country of birth of the holder (for persons born abroad)
- Date of registration for certification (optional data)
- Terms of access to certification
- Date of the exam as well as the conditions for obtaining the certification (score or admission) and the conditions for passing (face-to-face, remote, mixed)
- Postal code of the examination center
- Date of issue of certification and its expiry date (if applicable)
- If it is a score-based assessment, the European language level or the European digital level
- The type of certification (RS or RNCP)
- If applicable, the wording of the option or mention and the specialty linked to the certification
The certifier is responsible for the reliability of the information. Only data from successful candidates of French nationality must be transmitted.
In the case of co-certifications (a certification is shared by several certifiers), the certifiers must agree that only one of them transmits all the data.
How to transmit information?
In order to transmit data, you must first follow these steps:
- Contact the Caisse des Dépôts via the portal
- While waiting for the Caisse des Dépôts to process the information, the certifier reads the guides provided and meets the necessary conditions to proceed with the recovery of the information in order to facilitate its sending
- The Caisse des Dépôts transmits the identifiers. The certifier can then create an account
- The certifier regularly files the files containing the certification data
The data must be transmitted via an XML file on the dedicated portal. You can put several certification passes on the same file. You can find here an example of an XML file to fill in. XML file is a type of file that allows you to mark up and structure data, and can be read by any hardware or operating system. XML files require special formatting that can seem complex and difficult to understand, which is why it is recommended to fill it in using the user guide.
Once the file is submitted, you will receive an acknowledgement of receipt and then of processing. The acknowledgement of processing will inform you of any anomalies detected and will help you resolve the problem(s). Rejected files will then have to be sent via a new submission to proceed with their validation.
Other transmission methods, particularly via API, are under study and could be made available soon.
Similarly, it is not currently possible to edit or delete a file that has already been submitted, but this functionality is under consideration.
Also pay attention to the browser used! Caisse des Dépôts reported that the connected portal for depositing files was sometimes inaccessible from Firefox, Explorer and Safari browsers. It is recommended to use Chrome or Edge while waiting for the problem with other browsers to be resolved.
The consequences in the absence of a certification link
If at the end of the first half of 2022, the attachment process has not been carried out or at least started, France Compétences may take sanctions. First, it will be a reminder of the law, then if the certifier still does not take any steps, there will then be a dereferencing of the certifications.
It is therefore important to transmit the data, and therefore to gather them when passing the certification, in particular those concerning the holder. As a reminder, only the name, first name, date of birth and gender of the holder are mandatory to be able to transmit the files.
You can find on this page all the guides made available by the Caisse des Dépôts:
- Glossary containing definitions of terms related to the hanging process
- General guide to the process
- Help guide for creating a support ticket
- Data dictionary including the data to be transmitted and whether or not it is mandatory
- Example XML file
- Guide to building an XML file
- XML Error Troubleshooting Companion Guide