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Technical education in Victoria

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Technical education in Victoria began in the early years of the colony. It was set up to teach hands-on skills for trades and jobs that supported the economy.

It started with the mechanics’ institute movement, which reached Melbourne in the 1830s. It later grew with the schools of mines that began during the gold rush.

Over time, technical education grew to include secondary schooling in technical schools.

Many of these schools closed in the 1990s, but technical education continues today through:

Early technical education in Victoria

The mechanics’ institute movement started in England. It gave working people access to education. It helped shape technical learning in Victoria.

The Melbourne Mechanics’ Institute opened in 1839. It had libraries and lectures for the public.

Regional institutes in Echuca, Sale, and Warrnambool also opened. They began art and design schools that later became part of Victoria’s technical school system.

Victoria’s first technical college, the Ballarat School of Mines, opened in 1870. It taught mining and other hands-on skills used in local industries.

At that time, the schools of mines, and art and design schools, were run by their members, not by the government. They helped in teaching practical skills across the state.

The late 1800s

Schools of mines and working men’s colleges ran themselves.

In 1869, the Technological Commission of Victoria started to give funding based on student numbers. Even so, the government’s role was small.

By the early 1890s, Victoria had 12 schools of mines and 3 working men’s colleges. The best known was the Working Men’s College (now RMIT), which opened in 1887.

Senior technical education

Early colleges mainly trained adults for work. They offered apprenticeships, certificate courses, and skills in areas such as:

Some colleges also had classes for students under 16 years of age.

In the 1970s, many technical colleges either turned into TAFE institutes or merged with universities.

Junior technical education

The Education Act of 1910 gave the Victorian Education Department control of technical education. This led to:

From the 1950s, new standalone technical schools were built, including:

Separation of senior and junior technical schools

In the 1960s, the federal government began funding diploma courses. Secondary schools were run by the state government though, so to get federal funding, technical colleges had to separate from secondary schools.

As a result, during the 1960s and 1970s, senior and junior technical schools split apart.

Examples include:

Reform and the closure of technical schools

In 1985, the Blackburn Report suggested merging technical and high schools. It called for a single secondary qualification called the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE).

From 1987, technical and high schools started merging. By 1990, all technical schools had either renamed or merged with other schools. Cobram Technical School was the exception. It kept its name, despite pressure to change it.

Technical education today

Vocational and technical education remains an important part of Victoria’s education system:

Further reading

The below texts informed this work and would assist those interested in further study of technical education in Victoria.

Vision and Realisation: A Centenary History of State Education in Victoria. Volume 1. (Ed.) LJ Blake. Education Department of Victoria. 1973.

A Secondary Education for All? A History of State Secondary Schooling in Victoria. By John Andrews & Deborah Towns. Australian Scholarly Publishing. 2017.

Public Record Office Victoria. Agency Description VA 714. Education Department.

Education, Technical. Andrew Spaull. Encyclopedia of Melbourne: The City Past and Present. University of Melbourne. 2008

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Updated 27 March 2026

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