A vocational school (or trade school or career school), providing vocational education, is a school in which students are taught the skills needed to perform a particular job. Traditionally, vocational schools have not existed to further education in the sense of liberal arts, but rather to teach only job-specific skills, and as such have been better considered to be institutions devoted to training, not education. That purely vocational focus began changing in the 1990s "toward a broader preparation that develops the academic" and technical skills of students, as well as the vocational.[1]
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Vocational schools are sometimes called colleges in Canada. However, a college may also refer to an institution that offers part of a university degree, or credits that may be transferred to a university.
In Ontario, Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities have divided postsecondary education into Universities, Community Colleges and Private Career Colleges. While vocational training is offered in both College systems, it is generally agreed that Private Career Colleges Colleges are better suited due to accelerated learning (Monday to Friday- 4 hours per day) , focused Curriculum(trains to the skills specific to each vocation) and smaller classes(providing stronger teacher support for all students).
In the province of Quebec, there are some vocational programs offered at institutions called CEGEP's (Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel), but these too may function as an introduction to university. Generally students complete two years at a CEGEP directly out of high school, and then complete three years at a university (rather than the usual four), to earn an undergraduate degree. Alternatively some CEGEP's offer vocational training, but it is more likely that vocational training will be found at institutions separate from the academic institutions, though they may still be called colleges.
In Eastern Europe a vocational education is represented in forms of (professional) vocational technical schools often abbreviated as PTU and technical colleges (technicum).
PTU is usually a preparatory vocational education and is equivalent to the general education of the third degree in the former Soviet education, providing a lower level of vocational education (apprenticeship). It could be compared to a trade high school. In 1920-30s such PTUs were called as schools of factory and plant apprenticeship and later 1940s - vocational schools. Sometime after 1959 the name of PTU was established, however, with the reorganization of the Soviet educational system these vocational schools renamed into lyceums. There were several types of PTUs such as Middle City PTU and Rural PTU.
Technical college (technicum) is becoming an obsolete term for a college in the regions of Eastern Europe. Technicums provided a middle level of vocational education. Aside of technicums and PTU there also were vocational schools (Russian: Профессиональные училища) that also provided a middle level of vocational education. In Ukraine of 1920-30s technicums were a (technical) vocational institutes, however, during the 1930-32s Soviet educational reform they were degraded in their accreditation.
Institutes were considered a higher level of education, however, unlike universities they were more trade oriented than academically. Institutes were an upper level of vocational education type schools. With the reorganization of the Soviet education system institutes are being simply replaced by universities.
The Finnish system is divided between vocational and academic paths. Currently about 47 percent of Finnish students at age 15 go to vocational school. The vocational school is a secondary school for ages 16–21, and prepares the students for entering the workforce. The curriculum includes little academic general education, while the practical skills of each trade are stressed. The education is divided into eight main categories with a total of about 50 trades. The basic categories of education are
In addition to these categories administered by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Interior provides vocational education in the security and rescue branch for policemen, prison guards and firefighters.
The vocational schools are usually owned by the municipalities, but in special cases, private or state vocational schools exist. The state grants aid to all vocational schools on the same basis, regardless of the owner. On the other hand, the vocational schools are not allowed to operate for profit. The Ministry of Education issues licences to provide vocational education. In the licence, the municipality or a private entity is given permission to train a yearly quota of students for specific trades. The licence also specifies the area where the school must be located and the languages used in the education.
The vocational school students are selected by the schools on the basis of criteria set by the Ministry of Education. The basic qualification for the study is completed nine-year comprehensive school. Anyone may seek admission in any vocational school regardless of their domicile. In certain trades, bad health or invalidity may be acceptable grounds for refusing admission. The students do not pay tuition and they must be provided with health care and a free daily school lunch. However, the students must pay for the books, although the tools and practice material are provided to the students for free.
In tertiary education, there are higher vocational schools (ammattikorkeakoulu which is translated to polytechnic or university of applied sciences), which give about 3-4 -year degrees in more involved fields, like engineering (see insinööri (amk)) or nursing.
In contrast to the vocational school, an academically orientated upper secondary school, or senior high school (Finnish: lukio) teaches no vocational skills. It prepares for entering the university or a higher vocational school.
In Germany, vocational schools — Berufsschulen — have a history stretching back to the 19th century. A German Berufsschule is generally a secondary public school and does not charge tuition fees. Today they are part of the dual education system which combines apprenticeships in a company and vocational training in a school, both taking place over the same period of time on different days of the week or in blocks of several weeks.
As part of the dual education system, the Berufsschule is a part-time school, with students attending 8–12 45-minute lessons a week. Sometimes schooling is arranged in blocks of several weeks, in particular for trades which are only learnt by a small number of people. The rest of the students' time is spent learning at the company where they take their apprenticeship. The whole course lasts 2–-3.5 years depending on the subject taken, with the vast majority of courses lasting 3 years.
Additionally, there are two other types of vocational schools in Germany. The first one is the Berufsfachschule, a full-time secondary vocational school. These schools do not charge any tuition fees either. The course at this type of school lasts 1–3 years. This type of education prepares the students for special job trainigs. Students can also get a higher graduation at the Berufsfachschule: zweijährige Berufsfachschule: Mittlerer Abschluss = equivalent to GCSE, zweijährige höhere Berufsfachschule = Fachabitur = equivalent to BTEC, dreijährige höhere Berufsfachschule or Wirtschaftsgymnasium = Abitur = A-level
The second additional type of German vocational schools is the Fachschule, a full-time or part-time post-secondary vocational school, and also most often a private school (but not in Hessen). Only graduates of a Berufsschule, with (often) a minimum of 1 year work experience after graduation, are permitted to attend this type of school. The course at a Fachschule lasts 1–2 years for full-time students and 2–4 years for part-time students, and is comparable in level to the Higher National Diploma in the UK.
A vocational school in the Republic of Ireland is a type of secondary education school which places a large emphasis on vocational and technical education; this led to some conflict in the 1960s when the Regional Technical College system was in development. Typically the schools are managed by Vocational Education Committees which are largely based on city or county boundaries. Establishment of the schools is largely provided by the state; funding is through block grant system providing about 90% of necessary funding requirements.
Vocational schools typically have further education courses in addition to the traditional courses at secondary level. For instance, Post Leaving Certificate Courses which are intended for school leavers and pre-third level education students.
Until the 1970s the vocational schools were seen as inferior to the other schools then available in Ireland. This was mainly because traditional courses such as the Leaving Certificate were not available at the schools, however this changed with the Investment in Education (1962) report which resulted in an upgrade in their status. Currently about 25% of secondary education students attend these schools.
In Japan vocational schools are known as senmon gakkō (専門学校). They are part of Japan's higher education system. They are two year schools that many students study at after finishing high school (although it is not always required that students graduate from high school). Some have a wide range of majors, others only a few majors. Some examples are computer technology, fashion and English.
In the middle ages boys learned a vocation through an apprenticeship. They were usually 10 years old when they entered service, and were first called leerling (apprentice), then gezel (journeyman) and after an exam - sometimes with an example of workmanship called a meesterproof (masterpiece) - they were called meester (master craftsman). In 1795 all of the guilds in the Netherlands were disbanded by Napoleon, and with them the guild vocational schooling system. After the French occupation, in the 1820s, the need for quality education caused more and more cities to form day and evening schools for various trades. In 1854, the society Maatschappij tot verbetering van den werkenden stand (Society to improve workers) was founded in Amsterdam, that changed its name in 1861 to the Maatschappij voor de Werkende Stand (Society for workers). This society started the first public vocational school (De Ambachtsschool) in Amsterdam, and many cities followed. At first only for boys, later the Huishoudschool (housekeeping) was introduced as vocational schooling for girls. Housekeeping education began in 1888 with the Haagsche Kookschool in The Hague.
In 1968 the law called the Mammoetwet changed all of this, effectively dissolving the Huishoudschool and the Ambachtsschool. The name was changed to Lagere Technische School (LTS) (lower technical school) for boys, while girls now had the right to follow one of the general vocational choices; LBO (later VBO), VMBO, MAVO, or HAVO.
In the United States, vocational schools are usually considered post-secondary schools, but in some instances may take the place of the final years of high school. Nevertheless vocational schools are only two years of schooling. They may be public schools and as such are operated by a government, school district or other officially-sanctioned group, in which case they may or may not charge tuition. Most purely vocational schools are private schools; within this group they may be further subdivided into non-profit schools and proprietary schools, operated for the economic benefit of their owners. For a long time many proprietary vocational schools had a poor reputation for quality in many instances, and for over promising what the job prospects for their graduates would actually be; this has been largely corrected by more stringent regulation. The term career college is reserved for post-secondary for-profit institutions. Vocational schools have decreased severely in the United States by the replacement of offering alternative trade classes at specific schools.
Community colleges, in addition to offering associate degrees and core courses for transfer to four-year institutions, also offer vocational classes depending on the needs of the local community.
The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) 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.
Many vocational schools have gone on to become some of the most prestigious universities in the world. The California Institute of Technology[2] and Carnegie Mellon University are examples.
A vocational school – sometimes referred to as a trade, career or for-profit school – is a private postsecondary institution that provides professional and technical, career-specific educational programs. The schools’ education delivery focuses on providing job-specific training, not a broad, liberal arts education. Most private sector colleges or universities pay taxes yet receive no direct financial support from state governments. This differs from public, not-for-profit institutions that receive state tax support or not-for-profit private colleges that pay no taxes. Typically, the completion of a career college program ranges from doctoral and master’s degrees, to bachelor’s degrees, to associate degrees, to short-term certificates and diplomas. Career colleges are owned and operated by private individuals, private investors and public corporations. [3]
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