During the past decade, the number of jobs in France's administrative service sector has remained stable. General administrative work has become more infrequent; however, the basic occupations of secretary and accountancy have been maintained. Although the number of typists has declined, the number of "secretarial" jobs has increased dramatically. The basic competencies required of secretaries have remained largely unchanged; however, companies are increasingly looking for candidates with good interpersonal skills and sufficient technical know-how to assume greater backup responsibilities for professionals. Accounting assistants are also being expected to have both good managerial and good communication skills. The distribution of students graduating from France's secretarial and accounting training programs in 1993-1994 was as follows: vocational baccalaureat in accounting, 8%; technical baccalaureat in accounting, 19%; higher technician certificate (HTC) in accounting, 8%; vocational studies certification (VSC) in secretarial skills, 18%; HTC in secretarial skills, 7%; technical baccalaureat in secretarial skills, 9%; vocational baccalaureat in secretarial skills, 7%; VSC in accounting, 24%. The most recent data on labor market entry indicates that entry into administrative service jobs has proved easier for graduates with vocational baccalaureats in the office automation stream than for those with vocational studies certificates. (MN)