Skills assessment: the essentials in 7 questions

Are you looking for a job or currently employed, but questioning your career, your development, or your professional future? Are you considering a career change, but don't know where to start? A skills assessment allows you to take stock of your career path, your skills, your motivations, and your priorities, in order to build a realistic career project and a concrete action plan.

1. What is a skills assessment?

The skills assessment is a personal and voluntary approach that allows you to analyze your career path, experiences, skills, motivations, and aspirations. With the support of a dedicated consultant, you take a step back from your professional situation, identify your strengths, and explore avenues for growth, mobility, or career change.

The goal is to help you build a realistic career plan, consistent with your profile and adapted to the job market.

2. Why carry out a skills assessment?

A skills assessment can be useful at several stages of your professional life. It can be considered if:

• you are looking for a job and want to showcase your experience;
• you no longer feel fulfilled in your current position;
• you are looking for new perspectives;
• you are considering changing your job or industry;
• you feel the need to take stock of your skills, hard skills, soft skills, and motivations;
• you want to validate a career plan before committing to a career change, training, a move into management, or starting a business.

A skills assessment helps you take a step back, identify your strengths, and clarify your priorities. It also allows you to better position yourself on the job market and build a realistic career plan, tailored to your profile and goals.

3. How does a skills assessment work?

The skills assessment is carried out with an external training provider independent of the employee's company or the Temporary Work Agency (TWA). It consists of 3 regulatory phases, combining interviews, tests, and follow-up.

The preliminary phase

The preliminary phase analyzes your request, clarifies your needs, defines the goals of the assessment, and sets up the support methods.

The investigation phase

The investigation phase analyzes your career path, skills, motivations, and priorities. It also serves to explore different career paths, verify their feasibility, and identify any training needs if necessary.

The conclusion phase

The conclusion phase formalizes the chosen project, or potential scenarios, and builds a concrete action plan. It concludes with a confidential summary document given solely to you.

4. When should you do a skills assessment?

The ideal time to carry out a skills assessment depends on your reasons. Are you currently employed and thinking about changing careers, but don't want to inform your employer yet? Then it's best to complete your skills assessment outside of working hours. Do you want to upskill within your company or during assignments offered by your temporary recruitment agency? Speak to your HR director or consultant. Depending on your situation, your assessment can be carried out during or outside working hours.

The skills assessment is personalized and individualized support tailored to your needs. It lasts up to 24 hours, spread over an average of 8 to 10 weeks, allowing you to move at your own pace in building your career plan.

5. Who can benefit from a skills assessment?

Whether you are a permanent employee, temporary worker, public servant, or job seeker, you can consider a skills assessment. Access and funding terms may vary depending on your status, situation, and the scheme used.

6. Who should you send your request to for a skills assessment?

You are an employee

If you wish to complete your skills assessment during working hours, you must submit a request for authorization to your employer. They have a time limit to respond and may accept or postpone your request based on company operations.

If you wish to keep your process confidential, you can complete your assessment outside of working hours, notably by using your CPF. In this case, your employer does not need to be informed.

Good to know: the skills assessment can also be offered by your employer as part of the skills development plan, but it cannot be imposed on you without your consent.

You are a temporary worker

You can contact your temporary recruitment agency or consultant to be guided toward solutions suited to your situation. Find your Actual agency here.

You are a job seeker

You can speak with your France Travail advisor, who can guide you on support and funding options according to your situation.

7. How to fund a skills assessment?

The cost of a skills assessment varies according to duration, the chosen format, and the provider. Depending on your situation, it can be funded:

• via your CPF (Personal Training Account);
• by your company, as part of the skills development plan;
• with support from France Travail, if you are a job seeker;
• by an OPCO, in certain cases;
• by Agefiph, if you have a disability;
• through self-funding.

Good to know: since 2026, CPF funding for a skills assessment is capped at €1,600, with a fixed contribution of €150 in certain cases, unless an exception or top-up applies.

Interested in a skills assessment? You now have the essential information to get started. At Envergure, a subsidiary of Actual group, you benefit from 100% individual support with a dedicated consultant, in person or remotely, to clarify your situation, explore career options, and build a concrete action plan.

But remember: a skills assessment is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It is an active process that requires commitment, self-reflection, and personal analysis. With the right support, it can become a real stepping stone to rebuilding confidence, making informed choices, and shaping the next steps of your professional journey.