vocational training
Learning a trade
Vocational training is education that prepares people for specific trades or occupations rather than academic study.
Programs cover fields like plumbing, welding, nursing, and automotive repair—practical skills for immediate employment.
She completed vocational training as an electrician.
The term often contrasts with university education, though both paths lead to careers.
- trade schoolCareer-focused technical education
- shop classVocational skills course
- technical skillsMeasurable job-specific abilities
- on the jobActively performing duties
- weldingHeat-fusing metal pieces
career counseling · cosmetology · job placement · work permit · punch clock · plumbing · hard hat · construction · blue collar · certification · journeyman · trade union · technical education · community college · night school · bootcamp · upskilling · skilled trades
- educationeducation, school, schools, teachers, students
- Education Topicspublic schools, private schools, scholarships, tutoring, literacy programs
- adult educationadult education, adult learning, GED prep, adult classes, adult education center
- Adult Learningadult education, lifelong learning, continuing education, self-directed learning, skill development
- career prepcareer exploration, job readiness, career counseling, skill development, internships
- career trainingreskilling, upskilling, bootcamp, certification, online course
vocational trainingliberal arts education
Broad, non-vocational scholarly training
liberal arts · classical education · general education · university education · pure research
vocational trainingself-taught
Educated without instructors
autodidacticism · on-the-job training · learning by doing · trial and error · self-teaching