Establishment of the Municipal Technical Institute Belfast 100 Years of Further Education in Belfast One hundred years ago Belfast faced the 20th Century as a brash new industrial city. The achievements of the Victorian era had transformed a bustling town into an industrial giant boasting the largest weaving, tobacco, rope works and, most prestigious of all, made Belfast the shipbuilder to the world. The technical and social progress of 19th Century Belfast required a skilled and enterprising workforce. A government enquiry noted that in Great Britain only one in eighteen children passed on to secondary education, in Belfast this was closer to one in 60. In 1899 an opportunity arose to improve matters with the passing of the Agriculture and Technical Instruction Act. Belfast City Council set up a wide ranging committee to ascertain the industrial and commercial needs of a growing city. No time was wasted by the city fathers. In 1900 the existing technical education establishments were coordinated and expanded, ten new departments were created and a Principal appointed to oversee the rapid expansion of ‘further education’. The most noticeable feature of this development was the acquisition of the north playing field of ‘Inst’ in College Square East. This became the site for the new Municipal Technical Institute now known as ‘The Old Tech’ or ‘The Black Man’. Since 1907 this building has been at the centre of technical and further education in Belfast. Other Colleges opened the second half of the 20th century including: The College of Business Studies (Brunswick Street) in 1970 and Rupert Stanley College (Tower Street) in 1965. These became the core colleges of the Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education, established in 1991. While it is difficult to estimate the exact number of people who have had contact with Belfast Institute and have benefited from further education - day classes, evening provision, specialist training, technology and the arts – the total number must reach several hundred thousand. The variety of education provided by the Institute for 100 years has enriched and continues to enrich the lives of innumerable citizens. Whether someone attended a main Institute site, or one of the many buildings scattered throughout the city, the trail leads back to the early days of further education in the Edwardian era. Throughout 2006, into 2007 we will celebrate the centenary of the building of the main College Square East site and the founding of the concept of further education in Belfast. The Central Hall of College Square East is one of the most impressive spaces in the city and is a monument to the academic and industrial vision of the founders of the college. A feature of the Hall is the beautiful stained glass windows which illustrate the arts and technologies of the new Institute. In one of these windows a challenge is posed to the students of the day: Few things are impossible to diligence and skill (Samuel Johnson) It could be argued that this challenge is timeless and is as relevant to the students of the 21st Century as it was in 1906.
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