In 2002, the French policymakers adopted the VAE procedure, allowing to obtain a part or the whole of a diploma without following an initial or on-the-job training. Their main goal was to fight against the work exclusion and in priority for the unskilled persons. This paper empirically investigates not only the profiles of those applying for VAE procedure, but also the profiles of candidates completing the procedure successfully. The analysis is based upon the exhaustive data of the candidates for VAE in 2007-2009 in Rhone-Alps Region. We estimate econometric models with simultaneous equations (ordered probit with sample selection) in order to take into account the endogenous selection in each step of VAE procedure as well as the correlated effects of unobserved individual heterogeneity between them. Our results show that while VAE is a limited instrument for unemployed persons, it plays a true role for the unskilled or less qualified workers.
