Technical Institutes

‘Technical institute’ is a generic term, which does not denote a specific form of institution internationally but is loosely used to describe educational institutions that prioritise vocational or skills-based learning. Technical learning includes all levels from basic to postgraduate; however, in common parlance, ‘technical’ is seen as the converse to ‘academic’, with an inference, in some countries, that it is of lower status. This has become a self-reinforcing process whereby institutions that are designated technical, despite providing platforms for progression to skilled employment, are often regarded as being somewhat inferior to purely academic places of learning.