Subcontracting and Qualiopi in 2026: the legal guide for AI trainers

The problem nobody explains clearly

You run a Qualiopi-certified training organisation. A client asks for training on AI agents, orchestration or EU AI Act compliance. You don't have the trainer in-house, and sourcing one raises a question few players in the market can answer cleanly: how far can I subcontract without jeopardising my funding or my certification?

The answer rests on a distinction most articles flatten: the rule depends on who is paying. What is prohibited under CPF funding remains entirely lawful under OPCO funding. This article sets out the framework applicable in 2026, what changed, and how to structure an assignment without exposure.

A note on terminology for readers outside France. Qualiopi is the mandatory French quality certification for training providers seeking public or pooled funding. The CPF (Compte personnel de formation) is an individual training account funded by the State that employees spend on their own training. OPCO are sector-based skills operators that channel employer contributions into company training plans.

What changed on 1 April 2024

Decree no. 2023-1350 of 28 December 2023 substantially altered the conditions for subcontracting on CPF-funded training.

Since 1 April 2024, any provider acting as a subcontractor on a CPF-eligible programme must itself hold Qualiopi certification. It is no longer sufficient for the contracting organisation to be certified.

Three practical consequences.

Liability sits with the contracting organisation. The provider listed on Mon Compte Formation is accountable for the compliance of its subcontractors. If one is not certified, the programme becomes ineligible for funding — and you, not the subcontractor, carry the clawback risk.

"Qualiopi portage" in its old form is dead on CPF. The practice of having a certified organisation administratively front a programme on behalf of an uncertified independent trainer is no longer possible through this funding channel.

One exemption survives, and it is frequently overlooked: a subcontractor operating under the French micro-social regime with turnover below €77,700 is not subject to the certification requirement. This exemption targets occasional trainers, not established structures.

What remains entirely lawful

This is the point an anxious reading of the decree causes people to miss: the restriction applies only to CPF.

Subcontracting remains fully permitted, with no certification requirement on the subcontractor, under:

• OPCO funding, including coverage under a company skills development plan
• FAF training insurance funds for self-employed professionals
• France Travail schemes for jobseekers
• FNE-Formation
• direct invoicing to the client company

And this is precisely where the enterprise AI training market sits. A three-day masterclass for an engineering team, an executive seminar on governance: these are not bought through CPF. They are bought through the skills development plan or an OPCO.

Put plainly: the channel where subcontracting is constrained is not the channel where high-value AI training is sold.

Why training organisations are hunting for AI instructors

Demand for AI skills is growing faster than the supply of qualified trainers. Organisations face three difficulties at once.

The expected technical level has shifted. Clients no longer ask for an introduction to prompt engineering. They ask for RAG architectures, orchestration, data sovereignty, regulatory compliance. These are engineering subjects, not awareness sessions.

Available trainers are often explainers. Many teach AI without ever having deployed it in production. It shows in the room the moment a participant asks an operational question: what happens when the model is unavailable, how do you trace an algorithmic decision, where is the data actually stored.

Large accounts require a reassuring profile. A banking executive committee or an insurer's CIO is not buying a generalist AI consultant. They are buying someone who speaks their language: auditability, business continuity, risk management, compliance.

How to secure a subcontracting assignment

Five points to lock down at scoping stage, whoever is funding.

The subcontracting agreement. It must identify the contracting party, the subcontractor, the programme, the deliverables and the allocation of quality responsibilities. It is the first document an auditor will ask for.

Traceable evidence of the trainer's competence. CV, certifications, references on comparable assignments. The French National Quality Framework — annexed to decree no. 2019-565 of 6 June 2019, structured around 7 criteria and 32 indicators, of which 23 apply to a standard continuing-education provider — requires you to evidence the qualification of your trainers, including external ones.

Teaching deliverables in the contracting party's format. Programme, objectives, resources, assessment methods, materials, certificates of completion. A good subcontractor supplies these in your framework, not theirs.

Collection of participant feedback. Evaluations relate to the programme, therefore to your organisation. Decide who collects them and how they feed your continuous improvement system.

Public information consistency. The published programme must reflect what is actually delivered. A gap between the commercial promise and the observed session is grounds for a non-conformity at audit.

Three questions to ask an AI instructor

"Which AI system have you put into production, and do you still operate it?" A trainer who has never maintained a live system cannot answer what breaks at three in the morning.

"Will you supply deliverables in my Qualiopi framework?" If the answer is vague, the administrative burden returns to your team and consumes your margin.

"What happens if a participant challenges a regulatory statement in the room?" On EU AI Act and funding topics, approximation is common and expensive.

MyRex works under white label

MyRex is an AI engineering firm that publishes and operates Next Call AI, a voice-agent platform running 24/7 in production for property management companies, notary offices and real-estate agencies — sub-500 ms conversational latency, sovereign European enclave, guaranteed RTO under two hours.

We work as a subcontractor for Qualiopi-certified training organisations, within the permitted framework, under your certification. Programmes, materials, assessments and certificates supplied in your own framework. You keep the client relationship and your margin.

Abdoul Abdoulla, who delivers the sessions, is a former Digital Transformation Programme Director at Société Générale, certified SAFe 6.0 SPC and ISO/IEC 27001 Lead Auditor.

MyRex SAS is registered as a training provider under activity declaration number 11757647975 with the prefect of the Île-de-France region. This registration does not constitute State approval.

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