NZ secondary schools are able to offer their senior students either industry-based vocational technology education programmes or NZ Curriculum-based general technology education programmes. Each of these approaches is designed to teach knowledge and skills that will help students to successfully transition into the workplace. Through conducting five case studies of recent secondary school vocational and general technology education graduates this research presents data around the perceptions the five students have of their technology education. It focuses on what knowledge and skills were valued by those students, and which pedagogical approaches engaged them. The research indicated that contextualising learning within a practical project, whether it is a component of vocational technology education or general technology education, seems to engage students more deeply and make learning more meaningful.