Validation of Acquired Experience (VAE)

Any person, regardless of age, nationality, status, or level of education, who can demonstrate direct experience related to the content of the certification sought may request validation of their prior learning for all or part of the certification (skill sets).

This certification, which may be a diploma, title, or professional qualification certificate, must be listed in the National Directory of Professional Certifications (RNCP).

Candidates may only submit one application per certification during the same calendar year. For different certifications, it is possible to submit up to three applications during the same calendar year.

Please note that in order to best follow the VAE process, candidates are recommended to have written and oral French language skills (equivalent to level C2 in French in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages - CEFR).

The certification obtained through VAE, for all or part of the skill sets, has the same value as that obtained through training. Therefore, those who choose to do so—on an individual basis—seek, at a minimum, to secure their career path, but beyond that—very often—recognition and a sense of pride, a gain in confidence and mastery, and opportunities for advancement.

It is also of great interest to companies to engage in what is commonly referred to as collective VAE for professional groups, a system that often includes additional training. Indeed, it represents an ideal way to meet the challenges of forward-looking job and skills management. The aim is to enhance the value of employees, develop their employability, support organizational change, perpetuate skills, and ultimately enhance the company's image of professionalism.

VAE is a real journey, and candidates for certification will have to go through many stages before appearing before the jury. After obtaining a favorable opinion from the certifier, VAE candidates must compile a structured, illustrated file detailing their experience, activities, and skills, accompanied by supporting evidence.

Embarking on a VAE process is therefore not a mere administrative formality, but a genuine exercise in analysis and reflection that requires commitment and motivation.

Support is recommended in order to successfully complete this process.

The VAE program at Audencia lasts from 6 to 18 months (12 months on average) and consists of the following phases:

• Information, orientation and advice

A study of the opportunity and feasibility of the VAE project

Proposal of the path: VAE Coaching + Additional Recommendations (optional and non-binding)

• Admissibility check

Favorable or unfavorable opinion issued by the Commission (two consultation periods per year for admissibility applications, excluding VAE)

• Contractualization

VAE Coaching. Audencia + Complementary Actions (optional and without commitment) + Jury or Jury only

• Preparing for the VAE

Compilation of the VAE file and preparation for the jury interview

VAE Audencia Accompaniment (two sessions per year, excluding VAE Collective) or without Audencia Accompaniment

• Jury and Post-jury

Examination of the file and interview with the jury

3 outcomes: full validation, partial validation, validation denied

Full or Block Certification

Additional recommendations for partial validation

• Alumni Integration

Access to the services offered by Audencia

Network integration after validation

As a certifying body, Audencia is responsible for evaluating the candidate's application, and organizes it into 3 stages:

The consulting phase (free of charge) helps to determine the opportunity and the feasibility of the certification project. Positioning yourself is a key step in mobilizing the best mechanisms and committing yourself under the right conditions. After completing a file on the skills and motivations that guide your project, our in-house experts will offer their opinions and advice.

Admissibility (free of charge) makes your VAE application official. The application for admissibility includes the feasibility file and the associated supporting documents (This booklet is based on the temporary provisions of Decree No. 2023-1275 of December 27, 2023 relating to Article R335-7 of the Education Code and Articles R6412-1 to R6412-3, now in force, it includes information on the professional certification or skill sets targeted, on the candidate, their experience, activities, and training they have completed). Furthermore, this admissibility stage is carried out via the Sur France VAE digital portal. Positioning yourself is a key step in mobilizing the best resources and getting started under the right conditions. After completing a file on the skills and motivations that guide your project in relation to the certification reference framework, our in-house experts will then formulate their opinions and advice.

The evaluation of the candidate's application for validation towards certification (€2,500 or €3,500) is based on an analysis of the written portfolio validating prior learning. To complete and further analyze the file, the jury invites the candidate to an interview. Once the file has been compiled, the submission of your VAE file confirms your appearance before the jury. This interview is offered to you within three months of submitting the file, within a maximum of 18 months following the admissibility review. 

Applicants are advised to submit their applications within 15 months.

This file should enable the jury to assess whether the candidate has the skills required for the diploma, its certification framework, and skill sets. The interview allows the jury to obtain additional information. The candidate then presents their VAE application for 10 minutes. If they wish, they may use one or more aids (slideshow, multimedia tools, etc.) or refer to any work that may support their presentation. The jury members then question them for approximately 50 minutes, based on their VAE file and presentation. The purpose of the interview is to ask the candidate to clarify certain aspects of their experience and achievements, based on the file and the presentation, and to analyze them in greater depth.
Depending on the diploma, its certification framework, and its skill sets, the jury assesses the skills acquired by the candidate during their experience. It verifies that they correspond to those expected. The jury then decides on the scope of the validation granted (skill set(s), certification) and prepares the reasoning behind its decision.
PLEASE NOTE:  Juries are not formed in advance. A jury is formed as soon as an application is received.

The supporting documents required are:

• A photocopy of a valid official identity document
• Photocopies of supporting documents and certificates for the training course(s) and certification(s) declared
• Supporting documents for your salaried activities (signed certificate from your employer, photocopy of your employment contract specifying the period of employment, the position held and the weekly working hours, and photocopies of your pay slips) or a career statement (requested from the CNAV for salaried workers in Paris and its region, and from the CRAM for the provinces).
• Supporting documents for your self-employed (liberal profession) activities: photocopy of your registration certificate with the relevant authorities and proof of the duration of this registration (trade or companies register, trades register, URSSAF or any other document that can prove your self-employed professional activity).
• Supporting documents for your activities as a high-level athlete: certificate proving your registration on the list of high-level athletes, certificate issued by the relevant sports federation, specifying the nature of the activities carried out during the registration period and their hourly volume.
• Documents proving your volunteer activities: certificate of volunteer work describing the volunteer assignment, its duration, the number of hours worked, and the scope of the activity, as well as the skills developed and newly acquired, signed by a representative of the association. This certificate is mandatory for your volunteer activities to be taken into account.
• Documents proving your volunteer activities: photocopy of your volunteer contract specifying the period, duration, and nature of your assignment and your compensation payment notices, or certificate signed by the head of the organization where you carried out your assignment specifying the period, nature of your assignments, and their number of hours, or, where applicable, certificate of civic service and document issued by the State.
• Supporting documents for your activities carried out in the context of union responsibilities: photocopy of leave authorization(s) or a certificate from your employer, certificate signed by a member of the union's executive committee, or skills passport signed by a member of the executive committee, or photocopy of reports, on the organization's letterhead, and which can justify your involvement in activities directly related to the certification sought, specifying the position, duration, and nature of the activities carried out. If applicable, a photocopy of the professional interview conducted at the end of the union term of office.
• Supporting documents for your activities carried out as part of a local electoral mandate or local elected office: photocopy of leave of absence authorization(s), photocopy of the discharge from service or a certificate from the employer specifying the number of hours credited and the period concerned, or photocopy of the letter from the employer indicating your leave of absence or suspension of your employment contract for the purpose of exercising a full-time electoral mandate, certificate or minutes of appointment, photocopy of the minutes, on the assembly's letterhead, which can justify your interventions directly related to the certification sought.
• Supporting documents for your activities carried out during your apprenticeship, work experience or professional training periods: photocopy of apprenticeship contract, professional training contract, single integration contract, agreement and/or certificate of professional experience, signed by the employer specifying the position, duration and nature of the activities carried out, period of work experience in a professional environment (PMSMP), the period of training in a professional environment (PFMP) or practical internship, or mentioning a “confirmation of professional project,” “the initiation of a recruitment process,” operational preparation for employment under supervision (POE),: and/or the certificate of completion of the internship or period in the company signed by the head of the organization.

Support for the VAE is not mandatory but is strongly recommended.

It should be noted that the main work involved, which is writing the VAE application and preparing for the interview with the jury, takes the candidate around 150 to 200 hours.

NB: These rates include the administrative registration fee

Please note that a positive application is valid in Audencia for 18 months, assuming the jury meets within this period. After this period, a new application for admissibility must be submitted.

Financing

Different types of funding can be mobilized as part of a VAE program, and it is advisable to learn about them as soon as you begin the process, depending on your status and the conditions under which they can be mobilized (to learn more):

• Self-funding
• Personal Training Account (excluding Jury fees only)
• Employer (Skills Development Plan)
• Transitions Pro
• Operator Skills (OPCO)
• Pôle Emploi (Employment Aid Center)
• Regional Council

In order to define possible funding arrangements, it is advisable to make an appointment as soon as you start thinking about it:

• Public Sector Employees (Civil Servants and Contractual Employees): Ask your Training or Human Resources Advisor for information and review the programs available: https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/N186
• Private sector employee, job seeker, or in any other situation, contact your Professional Advancement Advisor
• If you are disabled, you can also contact the Agefiph organization

VAE Coaching is primarily offered in remote mode for ease of organization. However, the face-to-face mode can be requested and implemented if needed or preferred by the candidate (at our campuses in Nantes, Paris, and La-Roche-sur-Yon).