The Spanish government understands education as a rigid, unwelcoming, strict thing—merely an administrative reality regulated by royal decrees, royal orders, and circulars. The Mancomunitat of Catalonia inherited the projects initiated by the Diputació under Prat de la Riba, and it committed clearly to a quality educational policy.

It had a wide range of offerings that can be divided into eight categories: higher education, school of education, elementary schools, vocational schools, business schools, art schools, people’s schools, and professional schools.

Vocational School
In 1904 a fund for the school was created, and a year later, they would begin looking for the grounds.

School for Fabric Specialists
It offered instruction in the theory and practice of textiles in order to prepare them to be technical directors in production environments. It was located inside the University’s facilities, and the courses were divided into two sections, knitting and weaving technologies.

School for Bleaching, Dyeing, Stamping, and Sizing Specialists
It taught students so that they would be prepared to be in charge in a production environment related to any of these activities.

Tannery School
It began its operations due to a lack of technical knowledge of the directors and, also, before the decline of this sector. It was located in a 500 square meter building inside the Technical School. It offered a two-year degree. In order to apply, applicants had to be at least 15 years old and have passed the following subjects in any approved educational center: Grammar, Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, History, Physics, General Chemistry, French or English, and Technical Drawing.

School for Applied Chemistry
It offered instruction to professionals who would be in charge of establishing and developing the fledgling chemical industry in Catalonia, and to further grow the existing ones. On January 10th, 1915 classes began and weekly seminars were held related to these fields of study.

School for Electrical and Mechanical Directors
In 1917, the Diputació of Barcelona created the School for Applied Electricity as a joint venture with the School of Electrical Directors. Two years later, the School for Electrical and Mechanical Directors was born, as a part of the Technical School.

Requirements to apply to these two schools were exceedingly low, and no Math, Physics, or Chemistry was taught except for what was strictly necessary to work in one of the two careers. What was taught as the fundamentals in these degrees was the knowledge of how to organize a workshop, start a company, create an association to begin operations, and market research.

These two schools were located in two separate spaces of 930 square meters each. The first one had five rooms with mechanical labs, and the second one, four rooms , with electricity labs.

Guild School
It was the successor of the old Provincial Free Guild School, and it was connected to the Industrial Engineering School.

Machining and Metalworking School

• Machining instruction
• Instruction for foundry workers and modelers
• Instruction for furnace makers and technicians, and sheet metal workers
• Instruction for automobile mechanics
• Instruction for furnace and steam engine operators
• Typesetting instruction

Electrician School

• Instruction for electricians

Applied Chemistry School

• Instruction for dry cleaners, stampers, bleachers, sizers, and all other kinds of chemical industry operators.

Textile Industry School

• Instruction for supervisors, managers, technicians, and employees in textile factories, and for weaving assistants and supervisors.

Construction School

• Training for woodworkers and masons
• Body shop training

Language School (French)

Preparatory School

• Summer preparatory seminar
• Winter preparatory seminar

Exams and certificate
Students were supposed to pass final exams (revalidas) that certified they had been taught the subject, and with these they could obtain a certificate that showed their final grade and specialty. Before that, they received course certificates.

Additional benefits
Students who passed all subjects for the year were refunded the full amount of the application fee. Those who scored full marks in final exams received monetary compensation.

End of year trip
They sought to stimulate the students. In September, the school would organize these trips for those students who had deserved them.

Higher studies scholarships for workers
Starting in the 1920-21 school year, the Mancomunitat gave scholarships to all workers who had finished their studies and wanted to continue studying.

Library service
It was public and open on weekdays. In 1923, it had 3,000 available. It had seating capacity for 1,000 people.

Humanities seminars and conferences
On the one hand, during the months of July and August each year, specialized teachers taught seminars on art, science, sociology, etc. On the other hand, during the rest of the year, every Saturday afternoon there were readings of literature.

Vocational School Students and Alumni Association
Created in 1918, this association looked after the interests of workers who had done technical studies in order to help them find managerial positions adequate to their schooling.

Local Vocational Schools

Canet de Mar Local Vocational School for Textile Industries
Inaugurated on November 19th, 1922, in a building of their own, this school offered instruction to managers and supervisors for these industries. It also worked to educate its workers about their trade.

Badalona Municipal Vocational School
It started operations in October, 1915, and it organized classes for carpenters, masons, locksmiths, clerks, and seamsters. It contained the Badalona Textile School.

Although these were created before it, the Mancomunitat ended up being in charge of the following schools:

• Mataró Vocational School
• Vilanova i la Geltrú Vocational School
• Terrassa Vocational School
• Manresa Vocational and Agricultural School
• Sabadell Vocational School

Trade School of Business
Created by the Mancomunitat of Catalonia, it was inaugurated on November 3rd, 1918, and its goal was to educate teachers for the Local Business Schools. It also taught, among others, consulting specialists, stock brokers, accounting managers and directors, auditors, bank, company, and insurance clerks, customs agents, import and export experts, market specialists, transportation employees, postal service employees, consular corps officials, government accountants, worker, business owner, and cooperative secretaries, business directors, and entrepreneurs.

Local Business Schools
They were created by an agreement reached by the Assembly of the Mancomunitat in November, 1916. Due to irregularities with the distribution of the public contracts, the Permanent Council of the Mancomunitat canceled these, and it asked the Education Council to rewrite the public contract regulations to restart the process for the creation of two schools, each one located in its own building. This building would have its own student lab and office.