The Directorate of Technical Education was established in the year 1981 by the creation of a unified body for the administration and control of the Institutions imparting Technical/ Vocational Trainings in the State. The integration was felt necessary to co-ordinate the related training activities and to affect more efficient utilization of the mutual resources for the overall development of the training scenario in the State.

There were a total of 21 Industrial Training Institutes (ITI's) and 2 Polytechnics in the State at the time of the creation of the Directorate and with the growth and diversification of the activities of the Department, the number now stands at 37 ITI's and 12 Polytechnics. The ITI's, providing a more fundamental type of training, are located in all the major townships of the State while as the Polytechnics, aiming at producing middle order technical personnel, are located in the two capital cities of Srinagar and Jammu.

Activities

The Department is the principal agency imparting varied types of technical trainings in the State. The training activities of the Deptt. are mainly centered in the Polytechnics and the Industrial Training Institutes (ITI's) and can be grouped as under:

1. Technician Training through the Polytechnics, leading to the award of Diploma in Engineering/Non-Engineering fields.
2. Conduct of Non-formal courses under the Community Polytechnic Scheme through Govt. and Private Polytechnics.
3. Craftsman Training through the ITI's, leading to the award of Diploma/Certificate in Craftsmanship.
4. Apprenticeship Training in the field, leading to the award of Diploma/Certificate in Apprenticeship.

The courses at (1) above are conducted under the technical control of the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) in the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) at the centre.

The courses at (2) are also conducted through the Ministry of HRD. These are non-formal Courses of 3-6 months duration and are conducted in the Polytechnics and also the Extension Centers in the rural areas.

The course at (3) are job-oriented, with the purpose of producing skilled workers and are conducted under the technical leadership of the National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) through a network of ITI's in the State.

Courses at (4) are for actual industrial workers, who are trained on the job as fully skilled workers. The scheme is conducted through the National Apprenticeship Council (NAC) at the national level.

Both NCVT and NAC are under the Ministry of Labour (MOL) at the Centre.