Residential RTCs offer students a full-time training curriculum, usually for a minimum of two years. Nearly all of these centres offer agriculture, building / furniture making and life skills, and around half offer mechanics.

These courses have a number of components. Life skills, for example, aimed at females, concentrates on health and nutrition, cooking, first aid, sewing and dressmaking, appropriate technology and small business development. Mechanics usually concentrates on small engine repair and maintenance. But at some centres, students also learn to repair and maintain large petrol and diesel engines. Alongside these vocational subjects are the complementary English, maths and book-keeping or business studies.

Most centres will also include some religious instruction and cultural studies in their weekly timetables. In addition, residential RTCs run short courses on subjects from bee-keeping to water and sanitation.