Education is the number one priority of the Berger administration.  Clear goals have been established as part of a strategy focused on the growth and improvement of the education system. It is estimated that private and public expenditure in this area will reach 7% of GDP.   
With a literacy rate of 86% in the capital city, Guatemala enjoys a solid educational system that offers a wide range of technical, bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees.

• Guatemalan universities offer 95 different majors at the undergraduate level, 84 at the master’s and doctoral levels, and 19 technical degrees.  

• Guatemala’s recognized education system is comprised of various bilingual schools and 10 major universities. With a population of more than 160,000, Guatemala has the largest number of university students in the Central American region. 
• Guatemala has the ability to offer a highly educated bilingual work force, since many Guatemalan institutions require the TOEFL Exam (Test of English as a Foreign Language) for graduation. 
• Guatemala boasts the largest private university in Central America with 21,033 students ( Rafael Landivar University), as well as the largest public university in the region (third largest in Latin America) with a student population of 113,944 (San Carlos University).
• Guatemala has representation offices from higher education institutions from other countries, such as INCAE, the Pontifical University of Salamanca, and the Catholic University of Chile. These institutions offer master and doctoral degrees in the capital city.

One of the best-established and most effective institutions in the country in vocational training is the Technical Institute of Training and Productivity (Instituto de Capacitación Técnica, INTECAP). This institute offers three different vocational levels: executive, middle management, and operational. The Institute graduates technical specialists in fields such as tourism, hotel management, metalworking, data processing, accounting, textiles, call centers, telemarketing and telecommunications.
INTECAP operates in six regions, which encompass 32 educational centers at a national level. These include ten training centers in Guatemala City (including 2 partnership centers), 13 departmental delegations, and 9 training centers in other departments.

INTECAP’s training is usually carried out at the actual work sites and not in the training centers. This direct applications approach gives the students the advantage of training specifically tailored to the requirements of the employer.
In addition to INTECAP, there are another 150 centers offering vocational and technical programs. Some of these are:  the Guatemalan Management Association, Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Industry, Small and Medium Business Association, Tayasal, Kinal Technical School, Zunil School of Hotelery, along with other institutes run by religious orders and NGOs dedicated to preparing men and women in a wide range of careers. 
The depth and breadth of Guatemala's training centers assure a qualified labor force ready to respond to the high standards of international companies.

Another important aspect is that typing courses are mandatory for students between the ages of 12 and 16. This requirement has allowed Guatemalans to develop the fast data entry ability needed to achieve an efficient competitive advantage. As a result Guatemala has become newly positioned as one of the principal destinations for the installation of call centers, back offices and data processing. ACS, a multinational company dedicated to data processing in the country had the following to say:

"The availability of qualified labor in Guatemala City has permitted us to compete against other countries in Latin America, United States, and Asia. The geographical location, the time zone, the satellite communication and the advanced telecommunications system has allowed us to be highly competitive. We have one thousand five hundred employees with impressive typing skills and outstanding analytic abilities.”  
(Felipe Godoy, Country Manager, ACS)

Source: www.investinguatemala.org