In the Solomon Islands, the churches (namely, Anglican, Catholic, United Church, Seventh Day Adventist and South Seas Evangelical Mission) were the first to recognise the rapid increases in population and the inability of either the formal education system or paid employment to absorb those increases.

Starting in the 1960s, the churches steadily converted their former mission schools to vocational training institutes, and retained control of these centres. Seeing this example, rural communities began their own vocational centres.

The church authorities and communities felt the need for an associative body to help steer the RTCs, and so SIARTC was formed.