From its early times, FIAF was aware of the importance of developing educational and training programs for a recently born profession: the profession of moving image archivist.
The establishment of archival education programs is based on the premise that there is an urgent need for developing the professional skills of the archivists who will preserve and keep alive our moving image heritage. One of the first problems FIAF archives had to face was to provide theoretical and practical education to senior employees and future key staff members without sending them out for very long periods. The FIAF Summer School, was organised for the first time at the Staatliches Filmarchiv der DDR, in Berlin-GDR (in 1973), matching the briefness, practicality and high scientific standards criteria, and was successfully repeated four times in Berlin-GRD (in 1976, 1979, 1984 and 1987); one time at Det Danske Filmmuseum in Copenhagen (in 1977); twice at the National Film and Television Archive of the British Film Institute in London (1992 and 1996); and twice at the George Eastman House in Rochester (1998 and 2002). Future needs (general or specialized Summer Schools), venues (rotation principle) and periodicity (every 3 years) of the FIAF Summer Schools are currently been discussed within the FIAF Executive Committee.
In Europe, practical training is offered by the Archimedia European Training Netwok for the Promotion of Cinema Heritage. The courses and seminars take place following a rotation (in Europe) principle. The program is developed by a group of Archives, Universities and Laboratories.

In the USA, the George Eastman House in Rochester offers, since 1996, a high level yearly course program at The L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation. On the West Coast of the USA, the University of California in Los Angeles is developing the UCLA Graduate University Training Program for International Archivists.

A few other training programs are organized by non-FIAF institutions in the USA and in Europe. Links with their organizations will be provided as soon as they are available.