Vocational school
A vocational school, is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the tasks of a particular and specific job. In the case of secondary education, these schools differ from academic high schools which usually prepare students who aim to pursue tertiary education, rather than enter directly into the workforce. With regard to post-secondary education, vocational schools are traditionally distinguished from four-year colleges by their focus on job-specific training to students who are typically bound for one of the skilled trades, rather than providing academic training for students pursuing careers in a professional discipline. While many schools have largely adhered to this convention, the purely vocational focus of other trade schools began to shift in the 1990s "toward a broader preparation that develops the academic" as well as the technical skills of their students.
Terminology
This type of institution may also be called a trade school, career center, career college, or vocational college.By region
Oceania
Australia
Vocational schools were called "technical colleges" in Australia, and there were more than 20 schools specializing in vocational educational training. This model of "technical college" has largely been superseded by vocational schools offering courses under a framework known as TAFE. Only four technical colleges remain, and these are now referred to as "trade colleges". At these colleges, students complete a modified year 12 certificate and commence a school-based apprenticeship in a trade of their choice. There are two trade colleges in Queensland; Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Australian Industry Trade College and one in Adelaide, St. Patrick's Technical College, and another in Perth, Australian Trades College.In Queensland, students can also undertake VET at private and public high schools instead of studying for their overall position, which is a tertiary entrance score. However these students usually undertake more limited vocational education of one day per week whereas in the trade colleges the training is longer.
North America
Canada
In Canada, vocational education is primarily offered at the post-secondary level through institutions commonly referred to as career colleges or polytechnic institutes. While the term "vocational school" was once widely used, it began to be phased out in the 1960s and 1970s in favor of more modern terminology.During the 1960s and 1970s, many Canadian provinces transitioned away from standalone vocational high schools toward integrated secondary schools offering both academic and vocational tracks. This shift aimed to reduce educational stratification and provide students with broader post-graduation options.
Education in Canada is under provincial and territorial jurisdiction, resulting in diverse vocational training systems. For example, Ontario has a robust network of community colleges such as George Brown College, Centennial College, and Fanshawe College, offering diploma and certificate programs in skilled trades, health sciences, and technology. Quebec uses the CEGEP system, which includes both pre-university and technical programs. In Alberta, institutions like the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology specialize in applied education in engineering, trades, and business.
Several prominent vocational and polytechnic institutions in Canada include:
- British Columbia Institute of Technology — Established in 1964, BCIT offers a wide range of applied technology programs and is a founding member of Polytechnics Canada.
- Southern Alberta Institute of Technology — Founded in 1916, SAIT is Canada's first publicly funded technical institute, offering over 110 programs in technology, trades, and business.
- Red River College Polytechnic — Manitoba’s largest applied learning institution, RRC Polytech offers over 200 programs and serves more than 21,000 students annually.
- Fanshawe College, based in London, Ontario, one of Canada’s largest colleges, serving over 43,000 students across multiple campuses.
- Centennial College — Ontario’s first public college, established in 1966, offering over 400 diploma, degree, and certificate programs.
In recent years, vocational education in Canada has expanded to include online and hybrid delivery models, enabling greater flexibility for adult learners and working professionals.
United States
In the United States, there is a very large difference between career college and vocational college. The term career college is generally reserved for post-secondary for-profit institutions. Conversely, vocational schools are government-owned or at least government-supported institutions, requiring two full years of study, and their credits are usually accepted elsewhere in the academic world. In some instances, charter academies or magnet schools may take the place of the final years of high school. Additionally, most schools offer off-campus buildings, or partner with vocational schools in order for students to gain a certificate, as well as gaining the needed credit to graduate. With the dual enrollment, the student would graduate with both their high school diploma, as well as their vocational certificate.File:ITT Technical Institute campus Canton Michigan.JPG|thumb|Educational institution of this type in Canton, Michigan, United States
Career colleges on the other hand are generally not government supported in any capacity, occupy periods of study less than a year, and their training and certifications are rarely recognized by the larger academic world. In addition, as most career colleges are private schools, this group may be further subdivided into non-profit schools and proprietary schools, operated for the sole economic benefit of their owners.
As a result of this emphasis on the commercialization of education, a widespread poor reputation for quality was retained by a great number of career colleges for over promising what the job prospects for their graduates would be in their field of study upon completion of their program, and for emphasizing the number of careers from which a student could choose.
Even though the popularity of career colleges has exploded in recent years, the number of government-sponsored vocational schools in the United States has decreased significantly.
The Association for Career and Technical Education is the largest American national education association dedicated to the advancement of career and technical education or vocational education that prepares youth and adults for careers.
Earlier vocational schools such as the California Institute of Technology and Carnegie Technical Schools have gone on to become full degree-granting institutions.
Central and Eastern Europe
In Central and Eastern Europe, vocational education is represented in the forms of vocational technical schools often abbreviated as PTU, technical colleges and technical high school.;Vocational school
Vocational school or vocational college is considered a post-secondary education type school, but combines the coursework of a high school and junior college stretching for six years. In Ukraine, the term is used mostly for sports schools sometimes interchangeably with the term college. Such college could be a separate entity or a branch of bigger university. Successful graduates receive a specialist degree.
;PTU
PTUs are usually preparatory vocational education and are equivalent to the general education of the third degree in the former Soviet education, providing a lower level of vocational education. It could be compared to a trade high school. In the 1920-30s, such PTUs were called schools of factory and plant apprenticeship, and later 1940s - vocational schools. Sometime after 1959, the name PTU was established, however, with the reorganization of the Soviet educational system these vocational schools were renamed into lyceums. There were several types of PTUs such as middle city PTU and rural PTU.
;Technicum
Technical college is becoming an obsolete term for a college in different parts of Central and Eastern Europe. Technicums provided a middle level of vocational education. Aside of technicums and PTU there also were vocational schools that also provided a middle level of vocational education. In 1920-30s Ukraine, technicums were a vocational institutes, however, during the 1930-32s Soviet educational reform they were degraded in their accreditation.
;Institute
Institutes were considered a higher level of education; however, unlike universities, they were more oriented to a particular trade. With the reorganization of the Soviet education system, most institutes have been renamed as technical universities.