When Kognisia is not the right choice: cases to know
Control of the code, selling courses to the public, very small numbers: where another solution serves you better, and where Kognisia is a good fit.
Read the articleThe head of a training provider takes a call. A client company wants to train forty employees on a subject that is not hers: say, time management. She has her expertise, her own learning paths, and three weeks. Writing ten modules from scratch, with their quizzes, is not realistic. Turning the client away is a shame. What can she do?
Your own content: the right route when it is your signature
If your know-how is what people come to you for, write it yourself. Your method, your examples, your way of explaining are found nowhere else. It is also your argument against a competitor.
The price to pay is time. You have to write, proofread and update. Content that ages with nobody to revise it quickly becomes a weakness rather than an asset. Before you start, ask yourself: who, in a year's time, will have the time to correct it?
The catalogue: the right route when you want to expand without starting from zero
A ready-made catalogue meets a different need. You want to offer a related subject, test demand before investing, or answer a client without tying up a team for weeks. The content already exists, structured and divided up.
What the catalogue does not do: it does not replace your work as a teacher. You remain the one who decides who is offered what, in which order, with which checks and what support. The content is raw material; the training is something you build.
Three formats for three needs
The Kognisia catalogue comes in three formats. Each answers a different use.
| Format | What it is | When to choose it |
|---|---|---|
| Full course | An entire learning path, from opening to end | You are launching a new offer or a whole cohort |
| Block | A coherent set of modules on one skill | You are completing an existing learning path |
| Module | A short unit, with a single objective | You are filling a specific gap or running a test |
A tip for use: start with a block or a module before committing to a full course. The result shows quickly, the risk stays low, and your learners will tell you what they are missing.
The four questions that settle it
- Is it my core business? If so, favour your own content. If not, look at the catalogue.
- Does the content lead to my learners' objective? Read the objectives, not just the title. Superb content that misses the subject serves nobody.
- Who keeps it up to date? For your own content, you do. For a catalogue, ask the supplier and note the answer.
- What must I be able to demonstrate? This last question changes everything if you are aiming at a quality scheme. See below.
What stays in your hands
Choosing a catalogue does not take the steering away from you. You decide:
- what you take: a full course, a block or a single module;
- how you assemble it: the order within a learning path, with your own sequences around it;
- how you check: your quizzes, your assignments, your case studies, including those you add after the catalogue content;
- how you track: progress, results, drop-out alerts, per learner and per group;
- under what name you present it, if you choose white label, which is an option.
What a catalogue does not demonstrate for you
If you are, or want to be, compatible with the Qualiopi approach, the French quality certification for training providers, two indicators in its framework bear directly on your content. Indicator 19 requires that teaching resources be consistent with the objectives of the service, that learners can access them and that they can make them their own.
Indicator 7 applies if your course prepares for a professional certification: you must be able to show that the content matches the requirements of the targeted certification, often with a table setting each expectation against the sequence that covers it.
Catalogue content can feed this demonstration. It does not do it for you, and Qualiopi certification remains that of your organisation. We detail the evidence in Qualiopi and e-learning: which evidence to keep.
And outside France?
The choice between in-house content and a catalogue holds everywhere, but indicators 7 and 19 are Qualiopi's, so French. For you in England, the nearest thing is not a single scheme: Ofsted inspects further education and skills providers, including apprenticeship training providers, Ofqual oversees regulated qualifications, and the Office for Students regulates higher education. What changes most for you right now is the funding side, with short apprenticeship learning units that look a lot like a block or a module. The EU rows below concern you only if you also operate in the EU, which the UK has left.
| Country | Equivalent or rule | Reference | Key takeaway |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (England) | Short learning units under the Growth and Skills Levy: 30 to 140 hours over 1 to 16 weeks, for existing employees aged 19 and over | gov.uk "Growth and Skills Levy" factsheet (2 September 2026) | A short, funded format close to a block or a module. According to the factsheet, the units cover areas such as AI leadership. Funding: fully funded for employers outside the levy, levy-funded for 19 to 24 year olds, levy then co-funding from age 25. Since 1 August 2026, employer co-funding is 25% for new apprentices aged 25 and over. Who may deliver these units is not verified |
| European Union | AI literacy: taking measures to support the AI literacy of staff | Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, art. 4, replaced by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (in force 27 July 2026) | An obligation of means, with no level imposed and no certified training: it creates demand for awareness modules without imposing a format. Applicable since 2 February 2025; "high-risk" obligations under Annex III, education included, postponed to 2 December 2027 |
| Germany | Paid distance course with learning checks, mostly asynchronous: ZFU approval (FernUSG) | § 7 FernUSG; BGH, 12 June 2025 | The approval targets the organiser who sells the course: check it if the content comes from a catalogue. Repeal bill for 1 July 2027, not adopted |
| Spain | Training planned by the company: organisation and delivery cannot be subcontracted | Ley 30/2015, art. 12; Real Decreto 694/2017 | Have it validated before promising "full coverage" with content supplied by a third party. |
| Italy | Health and safety: not every course can be delivered by e-learning | Accordo Stato-Regioni of 17 April 2025, part IV, point 3.5 | Supervisors ("preposti"): in person or videoconference only; specific worker training online for low risk only. Each online course requires a written training project and SCORM or equivalent compliance |
These rules change, sometimes within a few months: have the framework that applies to your situation validated by local advice before acting.
Frequently asked questions
Can I mix my own content and the catalogue in a single learning path?
This is the most common use case: your sequences on one side, a catalogue block or module on the other, in the same learning path. Assessments and tracking apply to the whole.
Is the catalogue compulsory to use the platform?
No. It is an option. You can use the platform with your own content alone, as we explain in Launching your first online course.
Is a single catalogue module enough for a full course?
Rarely. A module has a single objective. For a course, assemble several modules or take a block, then add a final assessment that checks the targeted skill.
How can I judge the quality of content before adopting it?
Ask to go through it as a learner: clear objectives, stated duration, checks, concrete examples. If at the end of the sequence you do not know what you can do that you could not before, pass.
In summary
For a subject that is your signature, write; for a related subject, borrow from the catalogue, and start with a module or a block. Keep control of the order, the assessments and the tracking. Before choosing, look at the catalogue with your own learners in mind.
Sources
- Certiforma: Qualiopi indicator 19, teaching resources, accessed 13 October 2026.
- Certiforma: Qualiopi indicator 7, fit between content and the targeted certification, accessed 13 October 2026.
- Centre Inffo: new version of the reading guide to the Qualiopi framework, accessed 13 October 2026.
- Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (new Article 4 of the AI Act), Official Journal text, accessed 13 October 2026.
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act), Official Journal text, accessed 13 October 2026.
- European Commission, regulatory framework for AI, accessed 13 October 2026.
- FernUSG, § 7 (Germany), accessed 13 October 2026.
- BGH, judgment of 12 June 2025, III ZR 109/24, accessed 13 October 2026.
- German federal ministry, FernUSG repeal bill, accessed 13 October 2026.
- Ley 30/2015 (Spain, vocational training for employment), accessed 13 October 2026.
- Real Decreto 694/2017 (Spain), accessed 13 October 2026.
- Italian Ministry of Labour, Accordo Stato-Regioni of 17 April 2025, accessed 13 October 2026.
- Gov.uk, Growth and Skills Levy factsheet (England), accessed 13 October 2026.
- Gov.uk, Ofqual: about us, Ofsted: about us and Office for Students: about us, accessed 13 October 2026.
The Kognisia team
Kognisia designs a SaaS learning platform, with a training catalogue and white label as options.
Kognisia designs a SaaS learning platform, with a training catalogue and white label as options.