L’enseignement technique et professionnel français

This article studies the evolutions of the French system of vocational education in the longue duree. After an analysis of the effects of a policy of formation originally built on close relationships between schools, employers and local authorities, the paper shows how the crisis of the 1930s, the Popular Front and then the Vichy regime contributed to accelerate the process of withdrawal of local authorities and, correlatively, to extend the prerogatives of the State in the areas of training and certification. This is followed by a period characterised by exceptional economic growth but also by quantitatively small and qualitatively poor economically active population. In this context, the spectacular development of vocational education is partly explained by its historical role within the context of the Fordist compromise. From the 1980s, vocational schools undergo transformations which threaten the professional purpose of the training whereas at the same time, employers are placed at the heart of processes of training and certification. This is deeply affecting what made the originality of the French model