Seeing the necessity to adapt the educational system to the development and labour needs of the country, vocational education and training has been given much promotion. Various types of courses and training programmes are offered and administered by the Department of Vocational Education and the Institute of Technology and Vocational Education.

There are eight levels of studies programmed to suit the student's previous academic background, ranging from the semi-skilled level, offered to students who have completed the lower secondary level, to technical teacher training programmes (degree level), open to holders of Higher Certificates of Technical Education with high academic records and a desire to become technical teachers at colleges and vocational training centres.

Teacher education has undergone various changes since 1892. When the first teacher training school for elementary school teachers was founded. In the 1960's a large number of teacher training institutes were established to meet an urgent demand for more teachers. This expansion was precipitated by three major factors; the extension of compulsory education, population growth, and the availability of secondary education to a larger population. The attention that has been paid to expanding teacher education was evident in the dramatic increase in teachers. However, this effort was concentrated on the quantitative rather than on the qualitative. At present there is a concern for improving the quality of the teacher education programmes. The Kurudayada Teacher Training Programme is one of the innovative projects designed to upgrade the image of the teaching profession and to significantly increase the quality of the teachers. The programme emphasises a strict recruitment process for teacher candidates. Those who indicate a positive attitude towards a teaching career and wish to enroll for the programme must have attained at least 3.0 grade-point average from the secondary school level and must actively involve themselves in educational activities designed by the Office of National Primary Education Commission (ONPEC).