The diffusion and transfer of technology that goes together with the export of capital goods and infrastructure, such as the location of companies in emerging and developing countries, bring the same requirements for qualification as in industrialized countries.

Intermediate skill sets are a major asset emphasized by both business leaders and policymakers.

Faced with a growing demand for higher education from families, governments are seeking to enhance the prestige of higher vocational courses in order to attract a significant proportion of students and relieve the pressure on universities.

At the same time, governments are using the opportunity of the arrival of foreign companies to create or modernize vocational training centres, situating them within the framework of a general policy, especially for certification.

A number of major French groups have opened training centres to support their overseas locations: Peugeot-Citroën, Schneider Electric, Eurocopter, Airbus, Dassault Systèmes, Areva, Thales, Chaffoteaux et Maury, Casino, Sodexo, etc. These are designed primarily to meet the companies’ local need for skills. But they also offer other French companies the chance of entering the local teaching services and material markets. This public-private cooperation has a multiplier effect in terms of know-how exports.

The growing awareness of the value of quality higher vocational education is leading to a high demand for development cooperation. This concerns both the institutional aspects and the governance of educational establishments, the design of baselines and certification, and, in some cases, the design and construction of educational establishments.

^{Updated on: July 2011}