Vocational and professional training in the cultural and creative sectors in France combines initial education, higher education, apprenticeships and continuing professional development within a system involving the State, regional authorities, higher education institutions and sectoral organisations. Reflecting the diversity of cultural occupations, training pathways prepare professionals for a wide range of careers, including performing artists and technicians, audiovisual production, design and crafts, architecture, heritage conservation, museums, publishing, and the rapidly expanding fields of digital creation, video games and immersive media.
Initial vocational education is available from upper secondary level through vocational diplomas such as the Certificat d’aptitude professionnelle (CAP) and vocational baccalaureates (baccalauréats professionnels) in fields including arts and crafts, audiovisual production and live performance. At post-secondary level, students may pursue higher technical qualifications such as the Brevet de technicien supérieur (BTS) or the Diplôme national des métiers d’art et du design (DN MADE), before progressing to specialised higher education institutions or professional university programmes.
Higher arts education institutions under the Ministry of Culture also contribute to vocational and professional training by preparing students for careers in architecture, heritage, visual arts, design and the performing arts (see Chapter 5.3).
Apprenticeships have become an increasingly important pathway into cultural occupations following the 2018 reform introduced by the Law for the Freedom to Choose One’s Professional Future (Loi pour la liberté de choisir son avenir professionnel). By simplifying funding arrangements and expanding access to apprenticeship contracts, the reform encouraged employers across the cultural and creative sectors to recruit apprentices, particularly in audiovisual production, design, crafts and technical occupations in the performing arts. Apprenticeships are now recognised as an important mechanism for facilitating the transition from education to employment.
A distinctive feature of the French vocational training system is the role of AFDAS, the sectoral skills operator (opérateur de compétences – OPCO) responsible for the culture, media, communication, leisure and entertainment sectors. Originally created in 1972 to support training in the performing arts, AFDAS has gradually expanded its remit and today covers 31 professional branches, representing more than 125,000 enterprises, around 554,000 full-time equivalent employees, over 140,000 eligible intermittents du spectacle (see chapter 2.3) and approximately 368,000 authors and creators (AFDAS, Chiffres clés 2024). Rather than providing training directly, it finances continuing professional development, supports apprenticeship schemes, advises employers and workers on skills development, and facilitates access to vocational training for employees, freelancers and self-employed professionals. Its role is particularly important because many cultural professionals—especially in the performing arts and audiovisual sectors—have discontinuous careers, work for multiple employers or are self-employed. Continuous professional development therefore constitutes an essential component of career development, enabling workers to maintain and update their technical, artistic and digital skills throughout their professional lives.
Vocational and professional training continues to evolve in response to broader changes affecting the cultural and creative sectors. Digital technologies, new production methods and the emergence of creative fields such as immersive media and video game development are generating demand for increasingly hybrid skills that combine artistic, technical and digital expertise. At the same time, continuing professional development has become more important as cultural professionals adapt to changing technologies, evolving working practices and new forms of cultural production and distribution. These developments illustrate the growing emphasis placed on lifelong learning as a means of supporting the adaptability and employability of the cultural workforce.
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