"Education has a clear multiplier effect; with education comes increased health, economic growth and food security." Students in a school in Mingun, Burma, a village just north of Mandalay.

Margaret Koziol

USAID works to ensure maximum impact and long-term sustainability of its development programs by providing people in the countries we work in with the skills and knowledge critical to the achievement of country development goals. Training to improve skill and knowledge is a key element of USAID’s broader efforts to support human and institutional capacity development (see USAID’s Human and Institutional Capacity Development Handbook).

Training can take place in the home country, in a third country or the United States. Participants in these programs may be mid-level or high-level managers or other professionals from the public and private sectors.

Bringing participants to the United States involves additional planning and procedural steps to acquire a J-1 visa, required of all training and exchange visitors.

• Visa Compliance for Exchange Visitors
• Complete Guide to USAID J-1 Visa Compliance

Results to Date

From 2011 to 2015, USAID supported training for over two million people across all program areas and sectors, including more than 4,000 who received training in the United States. Most training programs were short-term technical training, study visits, and leadership development programs.  USAID also supports a limited number of longer-term academic degree programs, non-degree research, and other training programs.

Read more about USAID’s programs:

• All Children Reading
• Putting Education to Work
• Education in Crisis and Conflict
• Training People for Maximum Impact
• 2015 Global Education Summit

See how USAID is partnering to make a difference in global education:

• Let Girls Learn
• All Children Reading Grand Challenge for Development
• Global Book Alliance
• Mobiles for Education Alliance