English Trade education
The Ísafjörður Association of Tradesmen was founded in 1888. One of the objectives of the Association was to strengthen tradesmen's education. The Association took the initiative in founding the Ísafjörður Technical College which commenced operations in the winter of 1905. The only subject taught in the first winter was drawing. This was the start of organised trade education in the town. In the autumn of 1905 the tradesmen's evening school was strengthened when Parliament endorsed a grant to the school. The subjects taught where Icelandic, Danish, English, arithmetic and bookkeeping, in addition to drawing. The Ísafjörður Technical College was the second technical college to be found in the country.
In 1970 the Ísafjörður Technical College was the first in the country to be structured like a comprehensive school. In addition to education in trades, the school taught machine operation, navigation, technical drawing and the initial courses for further and higher technical education. Teaching in the Technical College was merged with the Ísafjörður Further Education College from 1987 and subsequently the schools themselves were merged.
Detail
According to the regulation for evening school for tradesmen from the year 1905 the school was open from October to the end of April and teaching took place between 7 and 10 in the evenings. The school regulation stated: The objective of the school is to support general education for teenagers after their confirmation, particularly those who practise handwork or that are apprenticed to tradesmen. The school was operated for the next years in the premises of the junior school under the headship of Árni Sveinsson, carpenter and merchant. The school was attended by "in addition to boys in industry, men and women who did various work, girls in domestic service and men working on fishing boats," says Arngrímur Fr. Bjarnason in his publication on the Association of Tradesmen.