TECHNICAL education in the past was considered not that important in many societies and, as such, did not form an integral part of their education systems. In fact, in some societies, people who pursued careers in the technical field were regarded as being not so bright and those who pursued studies in the academic field were regarded as being the bright and superior ones.

The industrial age, however, exposed the folly in such an approach to education as the demand for technical skills rose sharply, but they were found to be in short supply. Consequently, technical education was given greater attention and became formalised and integrated into  national education systems.

The aim of technical education is to provide instruction and training in skills that have a practical use. Engineers, builders and mechanics are the most useful sections of an industrial society.

Ours is the age of industry. In our part of the world where industrialisation is just beginning, there is a great need for technical workers. Even agriculture, which has been our major occupation, will not prosper if modern ways of cultivation are not employed. It is possible only if our farmers are trained to use agricultural machines, etc. Thus they will be able to do more work in less time and give their ‘bent backs’ a well-deserved rest.
Technical experts are necessary for quick agricultural progress. Eventually we shall have to mechanise our farming on a large scale. We shall need industries producing machines, tractors, engines and so on. We shall need technical experts to run these types of industries.
Even developed countries are now struggling to meet the demand for technical skills.
Against this backdrop it was heartening to learn that the Management Board of the Government Technical Institute, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary, will be pursuing a course to have this institution transformed into a polytechnic.
According to the chairman of the Board, Norman McLean:“We are looking to raise the bar at the institute.”
He added: “Guyana is now on a springboard to more advancement and we have to prepare our youths to benefit from the opportunities more development will bring and they are the ones who will continue to move the country forward,” McLean said.   
This is a very visionary approach by the management of the institution and they need to be commended for such a timely and imperative approach.
However, Mr. McLean made an extremely pertinent observation when he pointed out that technical education is very costly and therefore government alone cannot foot the bill, consequently, it needs the support of corporate citizens, some of whom are already on board, and they must be applauded for this. But certainly the institution could do with more of this support because ultimately many of them benefit from the cadre of skilled personnel that is put out by GTI.

Former United States Labour Secretary, Robert Reich, defines global competitiveness as, “The nation’s ability to add value to goods and services in an increasingly integrated world economy,” noting that the ability to compete will determine the living standards of our people. Already we are seeing a widening gap between our richest and poorest citizens.