A trade school (sometimes known as a technical school) is a postsecondary educational institution that prepares students for specific jobs in the skilled trades. Most significantly, a trade school provides students with hands-on instruction that prepares them for actual work in their chosen industry.
Trade school programs are entirely focused on practical work training. Someone interested in becoming a welder, for example, may have never welded before. Where can a person learn to weld? A trade school would have a lab where students could practice in an environment that would prepare them for the job.
Definition of a Trade School
A trade school provides students with highly concentrated training programs that are expressly geared to prepare them for a job in the skilled trades. Trade schools concentrate on teaching students technical skills in skilled and mechanical trades. Mechanical trades often involve the construction, maintenance, operation, or repair of some automated system.
Consider a blacksmith, welder, construction worker, auto mechanic, or HVAC technician. These are all skilled tradespeople. “Skilled” denotes that unique abilities must be learned to accomplish the job—not everyone can do it. A trade school prepares students for a profession in a sector that demands technical competence and hands-on experiences, such as welding or HVAC.
What Can You Learn at Trade Schools and How Do They Work?
All trade schools provide highly customized training programs focused on a specific sector. A single trade school may provide multiple training programs, such as welding and HVAC training. Both programs may exist at the same technical institution, but each is distinct. In this situation, both programs’ classrooms and training facilities may be on the same site, but each program has its trained teachers and relevant instruction.