Many schools provide a host of information on their school websites, but students need to check to determine if the school is accredited as well as whether its training is in line with the state's licensing requirements. Not all vocational training agencies and schools are qualified to teach skilled trades. Most of the vocational training agencies and schools are accredited through a nationally recognized organization, and this can be easily verified. Accreditation is the process a school goes through to show that the training or education provided is up to the standards of the accrediting agency, such as the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).
A lot of vocational training agencies and schools concentrate on a particular skilled trade. Vocational schools can be found for any skilled trade, the most popular being the automotive, beauty, massage therapy, health care, business and legal professions. A vocational school that trains in a skilled trade concentrates the training on that particular skilled trade. For example, mechanics or automotive technicians training concentrates the coursework on actually working on automobiles and the equipment used to work on different types of automobiles.
The one thing that vocational schools and training agencies do that a lot of colleges and universities don't is to provide hands-on training. All vocational training agencies provide courses where a student actually performs the skilled trade desired. As much as half the coursework at a vocational training agency is practical experience of the skilled trade. For example, dental assistants spend time in a clinical facility where they take X-rays, clean teeth, inform patients of dental hygiene and other actual tasks of a dental assistant. This makes the student more attractive to employers because the student is ready to begin work immediately or considered work-ready.
Vocational schools are a good place to begin a career quickly since the training at vocational schools is faster than at any technical college. Training that takes two years at the local community college can be done in 12 to 16 months at a vocational school. The reason the training at the vocational school is faster is because a majority of the coursework is hands-on instead of in the classroom. Students spend time working on the skills it takes to perfect a skilled trade discipline.