eFront provides three ways to organise and assign training to users: Groups, Jobs, and Audiences. Each has a different membership model and a different set of capabilities. This article explains when to use each one.
Groups
Groups are static cohorts you manage manually. Use them when you want to enrol a fixed set of users into specific courses or curriculums.
Key behaviours:
- When you add a user to a Group, they are automatically enrolled in all courses and curriculums linked to that Group
- When you link a new course to a Group, existing members are not automatically enrolled only users added to the Group after that point will be
- You can link a self-registration key to a Group so users can join on their own
- You can set a Group as the default so new or activated users are added automatically
- Groups can also be used to target in-platform messages and calendar events
- Removing a user from a Group does not unenroll them from prior enrollments
Supported links: Courses and curriculums
Jobs
Jobs are role-based training assignments. Use them when training should follow a role and when new courses added to that role should immediately reach everyone in it.
Key behaviours:
- When you add a user to a Job, they are automatically enrolled in all courses linked to that Job
- When you link a new course to a Job, all current Job holders are enrolled immediately
- Jobs support a headcount cap (positions) useful when you need to limit role size
- Job membership feeds into Audience rules, making Jobs useful as a segmentation input
- Removing a user from a Job does not unenroll them from prior enrollments
Supported links: Courses (not curriculums)
Audiences
Audiences are dynamic, rule-based segments. Use them when you want to control who sees catalog items, training sessions, or pricing without manually managing membership.
Key behaviours:
- Membership is computed automatically based on rules (e.g., branch, job, custom fields) and recalculated periodically
- You can manually add or remove individual members
- Audiences gate catalog visibility, training-session access, and pricing tracks
- Audiences do not auto-enroll users into courses
- There's no REST API for Audiences
Supported links: Courses (for visibility/optional bulk enrollment, not automatic enrollment)
Quick comparison
Groups |
Jobs |
Audiences |
|
Membership style |
Manual |
Manual |
Rule-based (automatic) |
Auto-enroll on user add |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Auto-enroll when course is linked |
No (existing members) |
Yes |
No |
Supports curriculums |
Yes |
No |
No |
Default assignment on user create |
Yes |
No |
Indirect |
Self-registration key |
Yes |
No |
No |
Headcount cap (positions) |
No |
Yes |
No |
Training-session visibility gating |
No |
No |
Yes |
Catalog and pricing gating |
No |
No |
Yes |
Feeds Audience membership rules |
No |
Yes |
n/a |
REST API support |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Manual assign/unassign in UI |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Note: Removing a user from a Group, Job, or Audience does not reverse prior enrollments. If unenrollment is needed, handle it as a separate step. |
When to use each
- Groups: enrol a fixed cohort into courses and curriculums at once, or when you need self-registration or a default assignment
- Jobs: assign role-based training where new courses should automatically reach all current role holders
- Audiences: control who sees catalog items, training sessions, or specific pricing without managing membership manually