Detailing its history and situating it in the broader context of educational development and economic modernization, Charles Day analyses the changes in industrial technology as well as the rise and decline of Fordism and Taylorism and their replacement by new techniques of flexible specialization and lean production. He demonstrates that, confronted with the challenges of globalization, increased competition, and de-industrialization, state and industry have been forced to redefine skill requirements, reform schools and programs, and establish new forms of cooperation, notably in creating work-study, continuing education, and apprenticeship programs like those available in Germany and other European countries. In the half century since the World War II, France has developed from a conservative, semi-rural society in which the great majority of the population had only a primary education to a highly developed modern one with a remarkably well-educated and well-trained citizenry and labour force. Technical and vocational education, which before 1960 were confined to an enclave within the French education system, now permeate the entire system . Business and industry, long isolated from education, now play a major role in educational decision making. The French educational system today meets the demand for skilled personnel in almost all fields while maintaining a complement of general culture.