As a training manager, it's time to think about your own skills! Budgetary pressures, the rise of AI, increasing expectations from managers and employees... Faced with the major trends in the corporate training function, strengthening your expertise is not a luxury but a lever for gaining legitimacy, influence and impact. So what training should you be taking in 2026 to consolidate your role and secure your added value? Philippe Argouges, expert in training engineering and needs analysis, explains.
Will 2026 be a difficult year for vocational training? Without a doubt. The forecast budget for France Compétences is set at around €12 billion, a reduction of €12 % compared with 2025.
Between political uncertainties and budget cuts, you've had to manage a number of sometimes conflicting priorities recently. How about thinking about yourself, your skills development and your own training needs?
Five areas of development are taking shape for corporate training managers. Here's a closer look at the training courses that can help you adapt your strategy.
Summary
Area 1: The training manager, an advisor who listens to managers and employees
Area 2: Training managers and AI, from experimentation to structured use
3: Developing your expertise as a training manager
Area 4: Communicating to sell your offer internally
Priority 5: Incorporate different methods into your training offer
Area 1: The training manager, an advisor who listens to managers and employees
Successive laws on vocational training have aimed to give employees a say in their own professional development. As a result, there has been an increase in the number of schemes designed to achieve this, such as the Personal Training Account (CPF), career development advice (CEP)... to name but a few. But you don't necessarily know how to deal with employees who have questions, or with managers who are unfamiliar with these schemes.
Increasingly, the RF function is evolving towards an advisory role. With managers, to help them better support their employees. With employees, to better take into account their expectations and desires.
How can we better advise employees?
The first step is to listen to them. To achieve this, the’professional meeting is a particularly relevant tool, when used properly. Be careful not to confuse it with the annual appraisal interview. It's not a question of discussing the objectives assigned to employees, but rather of discussing their desires for development and seeing how to support them in this process.
Training to help you listen and advise
Conduct professional interviews
Practical exercises :
MCQs on the regulations, self-diagnosis of skills, analysis of different situations involving requests for professional development, simulations of each stage of the professional interview.
Develop your interpersonal effectiveness through active listening
«Very rewarding training. I came away with lots of ideas that I can put into practice on a daily basis.»
«Very interesting and rich content: lots of tools to improve your effectiveness in relationships.»
Area 2: Training managers and AI, from experimentation to structured use
Artificial intelligence tools have proliferated in recent years. They are now part of everyday business life. But you need to learn how to use them to best effect.
ChatGPT, Gemini, Mistral, which tools give you the most? And how do you write your prompts for optimum results?
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Dedicated or specialised tools are also available today. Presentations, videos and even complete training courses can be created.
For example: NotebookLM, Gamma, Nolej.
As a training manager, you are also responsible for choosing the best tools for your everyday use. But to do that, you need to know what you can do.
Training to make better use of AI
Using AI in training, practical workshop
Practical exercises: discussions, experience sharing, design exercises in sub-groups (writing prompts, drawing up questionnaires and presentation materials, evaluation, etc.), educational games.
Prompt engineering, communicate effectively with artificial intelligence
«Very useful, concise and applicable immediately after training.»
«Thank you for this training course, which makes you want to try out all the tools that have been given.» «Appreciable training providing a good approach to AI and the various existing tools, as well as its limitations and recommendations.»
Axis 3: develop your know-how as a training manager
If you have inherited the role of training manager without necessarily knowing the ins and outs of the profession, you undoubtedly need to get better organised. It may also be useful to think about your activity, your role and your functions. Finally, you need to be able to answer employees' questions, The CPF is a new tool, particularly for existing schemes. What changes have been made to the CPF? What is the retraining period ? How to use the new prevention passport ?
In these turbulent times, you have to be smarter and smarter. In other words: find new financing, The aim is to make better use of vocational training schemes, put in place diversified offerings, integrate training engineering projects to adapt offerings to needs and evaluate results.
In practical terms, how can this be done? For example, with Co-constructed CPFs, In addition to the above, training managers can offer employees the opportunity to use their personal training account to take courses that are also of interest to the company. And they can do so during their working hours. It's a win-win situation for everyone. In effect, the employee uses part of their CPF (which they will get back fairly quickly anyway) and the company invests the employee's working time.
Training to see more clearly in your missions
Build and manage the skills development plan
«The content was clear, practical and participative. I acquired a simple and effective methodology for analysing needs and building a tailored skills development plan.»
Build and manage a training project
Practical exercises: simulating an interview on a specific training request, drawing up specifications, case study (choosing a supplier), etc.
Axis 4: communicate to sell your offer internally
The role of training manager is evolving.
Previously seen as an accountant, the role of the accountant was to check that the company was fulfilling its obligations, to validate financing or to draw up declarations at regular intervals.
Now in a position to strategic advisor, The training manager becomes the advocate for skills development plans, defending them in the eyes of the teams. It's no longer enough to present them to staff representative bodies: you also have to convince managers of the value of training for all and highlight the benefits to employees.
To do this, training managers must develop their communication skills.
Training to communicate better
Optimising your communication and interpersonal skills
Practical exercises: self-diagnosis (assertiveness test), training in the DESC method for formulating a refusal or a sensitive request, role-playing, etc.
Speak with ease and efficiency
«A very rich course and a very well-balanced pedagogy between theory and practice.»
«Caring and very constructive.»
Priority 5: Incorporate different methods into your training offer
Today, companies know how to make better use of the various ways of acquiring skills.
More often than not, they no longer choose a method purely on economic grounds. The educational criteria are also a factor.
Thus, face-to-face training remains essential for the acquisition of soft skills, while distance learning is very appropriate for knowledge.
But beyond these simple observations, tools have evolved rapidly in recent times, thanks in particular to the integration of AI. What wasn't very effective yesterday is more so today.
This is why training managers need to be fully aware of the options available to them, between asynchronous and synchronous e-learning, between face-to-face and distance learning, between coaching and on-the-job training.
Training related to modalities
Set up a pefective training policy
Practical exercises: sub-group analysis of a training financing case, case study and exercises (choosing a supplier, building a dashboard).
«Very good balance between theory and practice.»
While supporting the progress of others, training managers often put their own development on hold. This is neither wrong nor wrong: it's part of the day-to-day life of a busy function. But if the training function is to remain a driving force and a legitimate player in the changes taking place, it must also invest in its own skills. Because developing yourself means strengthening your ability to help others grow.
