Training plan
Legal obligation for companies with min. 20 employees
Companies with at least 20 employees are required to draw up a training plan for their employees once a year.
Below you can find practical information on the training plan, as a result of the so-called 2022 labour deal. Avoid penalties and make the best use of the training budget.
The training plan is an essential part of the labour deal and is aimed at developing new skills and strengthening competences within the company.
What if you see this not just as an obligation, but as a unique opportunity To strengthen your team and your organisation to a higher level and to lifting? The training plan can be much more than an administrative task - it offers the opportunity to invest in leadership, well-being, and the growth of your employees.
What is a training plan?
A training plan is a strategic document that describes the training that the company offers to its employees in a given period.
Such a training plan includes both formal training (courses and training) as informal training (coaching, on-the-job training). The aim is to maintain the knowledge and skills of employees and prepare them for future challenges in the labour market.
Submit annual training plan no later than 15 March.
Companies with more than 20 employees are legally obliged to present their training plan to the works council or union delegation by 15 March at the latest. If these are absent, the plan must be presented directly to the employees. This gives them a chance to give feedback on the content of the plan.
Final training plan must be submitted by 31 March.
The content of the training plan must be determined and submitted via an electronic portal to FPS WASO by 31 March.
Such a training plan starts with clear objectives and provides practical steps for their implementation.
This plan should clearly indicate what training will be offered, which employees are eligible and how training will be implemented. Employers should take into account Employees' individual right to training and training needs within the organisation.
Where to submit the training plan?
The submission of training plans should be done electronically through the application transfer.work.belgium.be. If the training plan contains employees' personal data, the employer should anonymise them before transmitting a copy of the training plan.
Employers who have not yet taken the necessary steps to forward their prepared training plans will be given a 6-month deadline from 2 September 2024 to submit their training plans for the years 2023 and 2024. These training plans must therefore be transmitted electronically by 1 March 2025 at the latest to the FPS WASO.
Already trusted by:
View our training offer
Fill in your details below and receive immediately a brochure with our corporate wellbeing offer via mail.
Content of a training plan
Under what form should the training plan be prepared? The employer is free to determine the form. There is no mandatory model.
An enterprise training plan must meet certain legal requirements and include the following elements:
- Objectives: What does the company want to achieve through training? Improve specific skills or develop new competences.
- Training needs by function: What knowledge and skills do employees need to do their jobs well? This can vary by function and department.
- Training offer: However, the plan should at least include both formal training and informal training and explain how these training courses contribute to the overall training effort.
- Budget and resources: What is the company's training budget and how is it distributed among different training courses?
- Procedure and implementation: How will the implementation take place? This should be clearly communicated to all involved.
- Evaluation and adjustment: How is the impact of training evaluated? Based on the evaluation, future training plans can be adjusted.
Investing in wellbeing, is investing in the foundations of your organisation - your people.
Balance between formal and informal training
The training plan should include both formal and informal training and explain how they contribute to the overall training effort defined at sectoral level. A mix of both is important for a complete and effective plan.
Formal training
These provide certification and meet legal requirements. They are structured, often mandatory and focus on developing measurable skills.
Informal training
These are flexible, practice-based forms of learning without certification. They promote self-directed learning through coaching, on-the-job training and knowledge sharing, and encourage personal growth and direct skill application in the work environment.
Procedure: drawing up a training plan
- The employer, after consultation at company level, must determine the content of the training plan once per calendar year.
- The plan will be closed for a minimum duration of one year.
- The draft training plan must be communicated in the first quarter of the year, no later than early March of the year in question.
- The draft is sent by the employer to the works council for advice. No works council? Communicate the training plan to the union delegation. No delegation? Share the training plan directly with employees.
- The works council (or union delegation) will issue an opinion by 15 March.
- After consultations have taken place and opinions have been communicated, the content of the training plan must be adopted by 31 March of the year.
Creating your own training plan? Here are the steps you can follow to create a good training plan:
1. Map your employees' knowledge and skills:
2. Write down what your organisation needs
Identify your organisation's training needs. Determine the skills and knowledge needed to achieve strategic goals.
3. Answer the following questions:
What are the goals of training?:
Who are the target groups of the programme?: Which employees or teams benefit from or need what training?
What are the content and methods of the training?
How will the training be evaluated?: for example, through feedback forms or performance reviews.
4. Link back and sharpen for next year:
The training plan and social consultation
Social consultation on the training plan involves involving the works council or union delegation to give advice.
This consultation is necessary to ensure that the plan not only matches the company's goals but also reflects the individual needs of employees. It ensures employee participation so that their development and needs are taken into account in training choices
Without such consultation, the plan may be drawn up too unilaterally from the employer, which could reduce employee involvement and motivation. The works council or, in its absence, the trade union delegation should be involved in drawing up and evaluating the plan.
Compulsory training and individual rights
The plan should take into account employees' individual right to further development. This means that in addition to general training for teams, attention should also be paid to training specifically aimed at developing individual employees.
Investing in lifelong learning
A training plan is an important tool to encourage lifelong learning within the company. By continuously investing in the development of employees, they not only stay motivated but also ensure that the company can continue to grow and innovate.
In the context of lifelong learning, Unfolding offers a wide range of training courses to suit the needs of both individual employees and teams. Thus, Unfolding organises not only formal training courses, such as the "Stress management and communication" and "Leading with Impact" courses, but also keynotes and team-building activities that contribute to skills development within an informal setting.
Which employees are the training courses intended for?
Belgian law requires training plans to apply to all employees of the company. This means that every employee is eligible for the training included in the plan. However, the law also imposes specific emphasis On the need to pay particular attention to certain high-risk groups, such as:
- Employees aged at least 50: This group should be explicitly included in the training plan.
- Other risk groups: such as people with disabilities or workers belonging to bottleneck occupations within the sector.
The aim of this obligation is to enhance the employability of these at-risk groups and help them acquire skills that will strengthen their position in the labour market.