The qualification of productive labour is one of the strong pillars of the Basque companies and the training of people one of the priorities of the public policy. The Basque Country is the community that has had the highest percentage of graduates over the last ten years, well above the Spanish average. Education is compulsory for students who are between 5 and 16 years of age. In fact, there is a suitable educational offer, with a special emphasis on professional training, for those students who are over 16 and want to go either for a trade or university studies. Besides, in the Basque Country there are different international educational centres (see Quality of Life). [move up]

Universities

Higher Education: In the Basque Country there are 4 Universities with 25 faculties or colleges, 5 Higher Technical Colleges and 22 University Colleges, both public and private. Including Universities, Polytechnics and Engineering Schools, Fine Arts, etc., more than 70,000 students benefit from this offer. They have a wide choice of long and medium term specialities, which are perfectly adapted to the formation needs of the advanced societies and modern companies.

• University of the Basque Country:
  The successor of the University of Bilbao (1936), it is a public university with campuses in the three provincial territories that make up the Basque Country: Bizkaia, Araba and Gipuzkoa. It provides higher education in many fields, ranging from Medicine and the Sciences to Fine Arts, Law, Economics and Business Science or Industrial Engineering.
  
  
• University of Mondragón / Mondragon Unibertsitatea:
  It is a private university and it started its educational activity in 1943. It is backed by the industrial group Mondragón Cooperative Corporation (MCC) and it is Europe’s first cooperative university. Three faculties: the Higher Polytechnic School, the Business Science Faculty and the Faculty of Humanities and Science, as well as two research centres: Ikerlan and Ideko. It was the first state university that obtained the ISO 9001 quality certificate in 1995. [move up]

• University of Deusto:
  It is a private university and it is managed by the religious order of the Society of Jesus. It has campuses in Bilbao, San Sebastián and Vitoria, offering diplomas, degrees, postgraduates and third cycle. The most well-known offer has always been the Faculty of Law, from where many important legislators and jurists have come out. The Faculty of Business Sciences, also known as “La Comercial”, is remarkable as well.
  
  
• University of Navarra:
  Four additional degree courses are offered by the University of Navarra at the San Sebastián campus: Industrial Engineering, Materials Engineering, Engineering in Robotics, Industrial Electronics and Industrial Organization Engineering, apart from the Higher Institute of Secretarial and Administration Courses. [move up]