Education vs. Training

The title may suggest emphasizing the difference between education and training. But the difference discussed here is not so much in their goals of leading someone towards learning, but more on their respective approaches in achieving it.

In my analogy, education (used in the context of learning in school) can be likened to “pushing”, wherein the basics and fundamentals are provided to the students in order for them to learn. Imagine teaching someone how to swim for the first time. You first provide the basic skills that need to be learned, and then guide the student while he/she is trying out what he/she learned from you.

On the other hand, training (used in the context of career related trainings) can be likened to “pulling”, wherein the goals are set and it is up to the trainee to achieve those goals. The trainee is the one to decide which of his/her skills to use, and learns by himself/herself any other skills necessary. Imagine this time training someone to compete in swimming. Usually you set a target time to achieve, and have your swimmer practice and train until he/she can beat the set time.

The main point of difference between education and training as described above pertains to the degree of responsibility by both the giver (e.g. teacher, trainer, etc.) and the recipient (e.g. student, trainee, etc.) to achieve the desired learning for the recipient. It is my observation that the more you go up the ladder of education (schooling), the responsibility of the teacher to provide you with instructions decreases, while your responsibility to learn by yourself increases. And when you graduate and enter the professional world, it becomes mainly your responsibility to continue learning.

Some companies are generous enough to provide trainings, specially the advanced and higher level ones, to their employees. Also, trainings may be provided for “specialized” skills, especially those that are required by a particular project or customer, but may or may not be so valuable for other projects and customers. But as an advice, when working in this highly competitive world of IT, always keep in mind that the responsibility to learn new skills generally lies with you. And if ever trainings are provided to you (specially the free ones), be thankful and be appreciative of them.