Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesperson or artisan. Vocational education is sometimes referred to as career and technical education.

A vocational school is a type of educational institution specifically designed to provide vocational education.
Vocational education can take place at the post-secondary, further education, or higher education level and can interact with the apprenticeship system. At the post-secondary level, vocational education is often provided by highly specialized trade schools, technical schools, community colleges, colleges of further education (UK), vocational universities, and institutes of technology (formerly called polytechnic institutes).
Historically, almost all vocational education took place in the classroom or on the job site, with students learning trade skills and trade theory from accredited instructors or established professionals. However, in recent years, online vocational education has grown in popularity, making learning various trade skills and soft skills from established professionals easier than ever for students, even those who may live far away from a traditional vocational school.
The World Bank's 2019 World Development Report on the future of work suggests that flexibility between general and vocational education particularly in higher education is imperative to enable workers to compete in changing labor markets where technology plays an increasingly important role.
Trends have emerged in the implementation of TVET and skills development worldwide. From the late 1980s onwards a number of governments began to emphasise on the role of education in preparing learners effectively for the world of work. This school of thought, termed "new vocationalism", placed the skills needs of industry at the centre of discussions on the purpose of public education. TVET and skills development were viewed as an important component in promoting economic growth in general and addressing youth unemployment in particular. In recognition of this, United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 advocates the expansion of equitable access to TVET needs in order to substantially increase the number of youths with relevant skills for decent work.General education systems had not been effective in developing the skills that many young people needed to secure employment in industry. The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the introduction and expansion of new vocational curricula and courses, often developed in collaboration with industry, and an increase in the variety of work-based learning routes on offer to young people.