Vocational School - Central and Eastern Europe

Central and Eastern Europe

In Central and Eastern Europe a vocational education is represented in forms of (professional) vocational technical schools often abbreviated as PTU and technical colleges (technikum).

PTU

PTU is usually a preparatory vocational education and is equivalent to the general education of the third degree in the former Soviet education, providing a lower level of vocational education (apprenticeship). It could be compared to a trade high school. In 1920-30s such PTUs were called as schools of factory and plant apprenticeship and later 1940s - vocational schools. Sometime after 1959 the name of PTU was established, however, with the reorganization of the Soviet educational system these vocational schools renamed into lyceums. There were several types of PTUs such as Middle City PTU and Rural PTU.

Technicum

Technical college (technicum) is becoming an obsolete term for a college in different parts of Central and Eastern Europe. Technicums provided a middle level of vocational education. Aside of technicums and PTU there also were vocational schools (Russian: Профессиональные училища) that also provided a middle level of vocational education. In Ukraine of 1920-30s technicums were a (technical) vocational institutes, however, during the 1930-32s Soviet educational reform they were degraded in their accreditation.

Institute

Institutes were considered a higher level of education, however, unlike universities they were more trade oriented than academically. Institutes were an upper level of vocational education type schools. With the reorganization of the Soviet education system institutes are being simply replaced by universities.