There can be no sustainable national development without vocational and technical education, and there can be no vocational and technical education without skills acquisition. The issue of sustainable national development is not a one-day event, but constant or continuous process that affects the citizens positively. The paper x-rayed the peculiar characteristics of vocational and technical education in providing necessary skills to the populace for sustainable national development. The conceptual clarification of vocational education, technical education, vocational and technical education, and sustainable national development were considered. The paper further discussed a brief history of vocational and technical education in Nigeria, during the pre-colonial, colonial and the post-colonial era. The paper examines the importance of vocational and technical education in Nigeria development. It further highlighted the role of vocational and technical education in sustainable national development. The paper concluded that non-acquisition of saleable skills has been a major factor in the countries under development and high rates of poverty and other social vices. Therefore, VTE as the type of education with these values should be recognized and taken serious for sustainable national development to strive.
Keywords: Development, Education, Nigeria, Technical, Vocational
