During the recent years the national and international society has been subjected to a series of different modifications that have affected the daily reality of the citizens. The Spanish education system offers a wide range of centres and programs which establish it as one of the most varied in Europe. The variety in study and training offers, together with an adequate equilibrium between the public and the private sector is one of the key elements of the system. The constant search and concern on the part of the public administration for the maintenance of quality in training guarantee the correct functioning of the system.

Likewise, for years now, the teaching centres have initiated a process of approximation to the real needs of the civil society and the business world, thus, looking for reinforcement and complementation between both areas.

Spain has a long tradition with regards to education. We cannot forget that our university tradition starts with the creation, in the Middle Ages, of the University of Salamanca (1218), which was followed by other important educational institutions (University of Santiago de Compostela, Universidad Complutense, amongst others) and moves forward in parallel to the impressive Spanish cultural and political history. In a more recent period, the Spanish educational system may be considered as the heir to the system installed in Europe in the 19 th Century, and as time has gone by the Spanish system has become much more decentralized an agile, without loosing sight of the strive to achieve academic and teaching quality and excellence.

As opposed to other European educational and training systems, Spain has managed to maintain and encourage an equilibrium between the private qualifications in study and training centres ---at any of the levels, elementary and mandatory education, middle school and higher education --and public qualifications. The main result of this equilibrium is the plentiful and wide variety of training possibilities. All of them have a common denominator: the conviction that internalization, the opening of study and training centres and the unrelenting strive for quality are the pillars that support the future of the Spanish education system which is immersed in a globalized world.

Without a doubt, the Spanish language -- shared by more than 400 million people and the official language in 21 countries --as the main working instrument in the system is an asset that has to be taken into account when envisioning a training itinerary.