Impulsion IA 2027: training, SMEs and the world of work

Impulsion IA 2027: train before you deploy

On 22 September 2026, Jean-Pierre Farandou, the French Minister of Labour and Solidarity, presented the Impulsion IA 2027 plan: twelve measures and €80 million of new funding for training workers, supporting very small and small-to-medium businesses, and social dialogue. It is not yet another catalogue of tools. It is the employment strand of the Osez l’IA plan launched in summer 2025.

The plan funds French workers and French companies. Read from outside France, in the US for example, it is still a useful case study, because the issue it names is not French: the tools arrive faster than the skills. The plan acknowledges that gap and sets out to close it.

What the figures say (Insee)

According to Insee Première no. 2120 (the 2025 ICT survey of businesses, published on 21 July 2026), 18% of French companies with 10 or more employees used at least one AI technology in 2025, up from 10% in 2024 and 6% in 2023. The European Union average is 20%.

The gap by company size remains wide:

• 15% for companies with 10 to 49 employees;
• 31% for 50 to 249 employees;
• 58% for 250 employees or more.

Between 2023 and 2025, the gap between the smallest and the largest companies grew from 16 to 43 points. Among companies that do not use AI, 71% say they see no use for it (mostly the smallest) and 54% cite a lack of expertise.

On the employee side, the Ministry of Labour estimates that only 21% have received AI training at work, while the use reported by companies tripled between 2023 and 2025. That is exactly the gap Impulsion IA 2027 aims to close.

The levers of the plan

Awareness and training. A free public platform, Explore IA, is meant to let anyone test their knowledge and follow courses with no prerequisites. A second track targets apprentices and apprenticeship training centres (CFA), with stronger funding in the 2027 finance bill. A national state certification, developed with Afpa and ANSSI, is meant to recognise AI skills. AI becomes a priority of the CPF (the French personal training account), with more co-funding to reduce what individuals pay themselves.

Support for small businesses. The 408 “Task Force Entreprises” run by France Travail, the public employment service, are to raise awareness among small and medium-sized businesses, in particular on recruitment and work organisation. A targeted pilot is to help them adopt AI while taking into account its effects on jobs, HR and organisation.

Measurement and social dialogue. An Observatory of the impact of AI on the world of work has been announced. Methods of “technological social dialogue” will be tried in some twenty companies and industry branches, with support from Anact, the national agency for working conditions. The stated goal: a national cross-industry agreement.

The measures are due to apply from 1 January 2027. The plan comes in a tight budget context: the Ministry of Labour must save €2.5 billion in the 2027 budget, so the measures kept are those judged to give the best return on investment.

What it changes for an SME or mid-sized company

Three concrete points, without jargon.

1. Train before (or while) you deploy. A generative AI tool bought “ready to use” does not create skills. Insee notes that more than half of the companies already using AI say a lack of expertise holds them back. Explore IA, the certification and the AI-focused CPF give a public framework — to combine with an internal skills plan, not to replace it.
2. Small companies are no longer alone on awareness. The Task Force Entreprises and the small-business pilot target precisely those that see the least use in AI. For an SME manager, the first step is not a foundation model: it is a bounded use case (support, assisted writing, triage, quality control) with data rules and a named owner.
3. The European regulatory calendar still matters. Since August 2026, transparency obligations of the AI Act already apply. After the revision of the European timetable, the rules for high-risk systems, including those used in employment, are expected in December 2027. Impulsion IA 2027 prepares the social and skills ground; it does not replace mapping how AI is used in the company.

Our view

At Azinove, in Strasbourg, France, we see the same pattern with our clients: the tool is in place, while the business process and the skills lag behind. Impulsion IA 2027 does not solve everything — €80 million alone will not transform the fabric of small businesses — but it finally aligns training, support for small companies and social dialogue on a single national roadmap.

For an SME or mid-sized company that wants to move forward without improvising: map the uses, train the teams concerned, document the limits (data, bias, responsibilities), and only then scale up. In France, the public plan can speed up the first two steps; elsewhere they are the company’s own job. The third remains a matter of craft everywhere.

Sources (in French)

1. AFP / France 24, September 22, 2026 — https://www.france24.com/fr/info-en-continu/20260922-le-gouvernement-annonce-un-plan-pour-faire-prendre-le-tournant-de-l-ia-au-monde-du-travail
2. Focus RH, September 22, 2026 — https://www.focusrh.com/strategie-rh/impulsion-ia-2027-12-mesures-pour-former-les-salaries-et-preparer-les-entreprises-l-ia-36462.html
3. Insee Première no. 2120, July 21, 2026 — https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/9025878
4. HelloWorkplace, September 22, 2026 — https://www.helloworkplace.fr/plan-ia-changements-2027/
5. Batinfo, September 22, 2026 — https://batinfo.com/actualite/travail-et-ia-un-plan-de-80-millions-deuros-pour-former-les-actifs-et-accompagner-les-pme_37381