Education v Training

In academic circles a distiction is often made between "education" and "training". I suppose to the average person in the street, the difference is maybe not important. However, when it comes to spending your own heard earned money, maybe it is useful to understand the difference.

Typically education is a broader word and deals with the transfer of knowledge. Training is often considered to be a subset of education, and is more focussed on the transfer of skills. So why is this important? Well it is when it comes to what you're looking for in a course. Most university students will graduate with a high degree of education but limited training. Whereas more practical type courses often done at technical colleges would equip the students with more training and skills than education and knowledge.

This does not mean that the one exists without the other. It does however mean that a course is likely to be more focussed on one or the other.

What does this mean to the student? It means that the discerning student needs to decide what they are hoping to get out of the course - more knowledge of more skills. There is a difference.