A	blacksmith is a traditional trade.
Vocational education (or Vocational Education and Training (VET), also called Career and Technical Education (CTE)) prepares learners for careers that are based in manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic and directly related to a specific trade,	occupation or vocation, hence the term, in which the learner participates. It is sometimes referred to as technical education, as the learner directly develops expertise in a particular group of techniques or	technology.
Generally, vocation and career are used interchangeably. Vocational education might be contrasted with education in a usually broader	scientific field, which might concentrate on	theory and abstract	conceptual knowledge, characteristic of	tertiary education. Vocational education can be at the	secondary or	post-secondary level and can interact with the	apprenticeship system. Increasingly, vocational education can be recognised in terms of	recognition of prior learning and partial	academic credit towards	tertiary education (e.., at a	university) as credit however, it is rarely considered in its own form to fall under the traditional definition of a	higher education.
Up until the end of the twentieth century, vocational education focused on specific trades such as for example, an automobile	mechanic or	welder, and was therefore associated with the activities of lower	social classes. As a consequence, it attracted a level of stigma. Vocational education is related to the age-old	apprenticeship system of learning.
However, as the labor market becomes more specialized and economies demand higher levels of skill, governments and businesses are increasingly investing in the future of vocational education through publicly funded training organizations and subsidized apprenticeship or traineeship initiatives for businesses. At the post-secondary level vocational education is typically provided by an	institute of technology, or by a local	community college.
Vocational education has diversified over the	20th century and now exists in	industries such as	retail,	tourism,	information technology,	funeral services and	cosmetics, as well as in the traditional crafts and	cottage industries.
In	Australia vocational education and training is post-secondary and provided through the Vocational Education and Training (VET) system and by	Registered Training Organisations. This system encompasses both Government and private providers in a nationally recognised quality system based on agreed and consistent assessment standards.
The largest and the most unified system of vocational education was created in the	Soviet Union with the	Professional`no-tehnicheskoye uchilische and,	Tehnikum. But it became less effective with the transition of the economies of post-Soviet countries to a	market economy.
There are two kinds of vocational education, secondary and post-secondary. Secondary education at a vocational school (ammattikoulu) is usually taken immediately after primary school, at ages of 16-21. Some programmes, however, require a secondary academic degree (ylioppilastutkinto, or	matriculation examination). The education is primarily vocational, and little academic general education is given.
With academic or vocational secondary education one can enter higher vocational schools (ammattikorkeakoulu, or AMK). AMK degrees take 3,5-4,5 years. Legally, they are not university degrees in Finland, although in foreign countries similar degrees may be called "university level". This is reflected by some Finnish schools giving English titles such as Bachelor of Science, with no Finnish translation.
Vocational education is an important part of the education systems in	Austria,	Germany,	Liechtenstein and	Switzerland (including the French speaking part of the country).
For example, in Germany a law (the Berufsausbildungsgesetz) was passed in	1969 which regulated and unified the vocational training system and codified the shared responsibility of the state, the unions, associations and chambers of trade and industry. The system is very popular in modern Germany: in 2001, two thirds of young people aged under 22 began an apprenticeship, and 78% of them completed it, meaning that approximately 51% of all young people under 22 have completed an apprenticeship. One in three companies offered apprenticeships in 2003; in 2004 the government signed a pledge with industrial unions that all companies except very small ones must take on apprentices.
The vocational education systems in the other German speaking countries are very similar to the German system and a vocational qualification from one country is generally also recognized in the other states within this area.
Additionally there is the Fachhochschule since the 1970's in	West Germany and since the 1990's in Austria, former	East Germany, Liechtenstein and in Switzerland. This type of institution offers degrees (Diplom(FH),	Bachelor's and	Master's degrees), which are one of the worldwide rare examples of a higher education that is considered in its own form to fall also under the (local) definition of a vocational education.
New Zealand is served by 41 Industry Training Organsiations. The unique element is that ITOs purchase training as well as set standards and aggregate industry opinion about skills in the labour market. Industry Training, as organised by ITOs, has expanded from apprenticeships to a more true life long learning situation with, for example, over 10% of trainees aged 50 or over. Moreover much of the training is generic. This challenges the prevailing idea of vocational education and the standard layperson view that it focuses on apprenticeships.
In the United States, the approach is varied from state to state. Most of the technical and vocational courses are offered by	Community Colleges, though several states have their own institutes of technology which are on an equal accreditational footing with other state universities.
Historically, junior high schools and high schools have offered vocational courses such as	home economics, wood and metal shop, typing, business courses, drafting and auto repair, though schools have put more emphasis on academics for all students because of	standards based education reform.	School to work is a series of federal and state initiatives to link academics to work, sometimes including spending time during the day on a job site without pay.
Federal involvement is principally carried out through the	Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. Accountability requirements tied to the receipt of federal funds under this Act help provide some overall leadership. The	Office of Vocational and Adult Education within the US	Department of Education also supervises activities funded by the Act.
The	Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) is the largest private association dedicated to the advancement of education that prepares youth and adults for careers. Its members include CTE teachers, administrators, and researchers.
Buzzell, C.H. "Let Our Image Reflect Our Pride." VOCATIONAL EDUCATION JOURNAL 62, no. 8 (November-December 1987): 10.
O'Connor, P.J., and Trussell, S.T. "The Marketing of Vocational Education." VOCATIONAL EDUCATION JOURNAL 62, no. 8 (November-December 1987): 31-32.
Ries, E. "To 'V' or Not to 'V': for Many the Word 'Vocational' Doesn't Work." TECHNIQUES 72, no. 8 (November-December 1997): 32-36.
Tuttle, F.T. "Let's Get Serious about Image-Building." VOCATIONAL EDUCATION JOURNAL 62, no. 8 (November-December 1987): 11.
IEK: Vocational education schools in	Greece.
Automotive Vocational Schools, a website devoted to vocational schools in the automotive field.
Jschool: Journalism Education & Training, an example of a vocational college in journalism education.
Medical Vocational Schools, a website devoted to vocational schools in the medical field.
Agricultural Vocational Schools, website for the TeachAManToFish network of agricultural vocational schools.