RTCs were set up to prepare young people to lead productive and useful lives in their villages, or if they choose, in urban areas.

The training curriculum offered by SIARTC's members reflects those aims, providing a wide range of vocational courses for students from around the Solomon Islands to choose from.

The diversity of the training centres also allows students to select the technical level of courses or style of delivery. Students can learn the practical side of running a small business, as in many RTCs students are encouraged to run small enterprises, such as poultry and piggery projects, small stores or petrol resale depots. In others, students participate in group projects, managing model farms, producing vegetables or rearing livestock.