Commercial Education

Trends in technical education - 1920-1940: In commerce, recruitment for degrees was still relatively small. However, as industry became more sophisticated the demand for more qualified administrative, clerical, financial, legal and secretarial staff grew so institutions began to offer courses in a wide range of subjects. Subjects like accountancy, banking, book-keeping, law, shorthand, and typing. A number of these subjects were overseen by professional bodies some of which offered examinations, set standards and granted professional membership grades depending on the person’s experience and position in the company. 

Many other commercial occupational areas were offered by a variety of institutions including:

Junior Commercial School. In 1936 there were 44 such institutions enrolling 5,259 students. These institutions provided instruction in commercial subjects and the so-called ‘office arts’ as well as continuing the students general education.

Senior Full-Time Courses. There were 45 of these enrolling 1,447 post-certificate students. Examples of programmes included secretarial courses mainly for females, Intermediate B.Com and B.Sc. (Economics) and more specialised commercial programmes in, say, merchandising.

Evening Classes. Subjects offered at the junior level included arithmetic and accounts, English and commercial correspondence (literacy and business communications), shorthand and an optional foreign language. The senior courses were of three years duration and had commerce as a mandatory subject. In addition optional subjects were available including book-keeping, commercial arithmetic, foreign language, and shorthand, a trade subject reflecting the student’s employment interest and typing.

Advanced courses were obviously found in the larger institutions that could provide the facilities, qualified staff and resources to prepare the students for professional examinations. For example in London there were 23 Senior Commercial Institutes complemented by a number of privately run commercial institutions.

The British Association for Commercial and Industrial Education (BACIE) was established in 1934 following the merger of the association of Education in Industry and Commerce (founded in 1919) and the British Association for Commercial Education.

A Short History of Technical Education .

Technical Education chronology.

A century of women's employment in clerical occupations: 1850-1950 (pdf)

The secretary is dead. Technology and flat corporate structures have consigned the job to the corner office waste bin.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finishing_school .