This article examines the development of technical industrial education in Egypt from the early twentieth century to the Sixties, through the angle of the discourses, debates and forms of expertise surrounding it. This educational sector gained significance in the 1920s-1930s as the country’s political and economic elites thought to expand the industrial sector, and its centrality increased during the era of state-led development. Yet, at the same time, this field was viewed – by local and international observers – as one in constant crisis, thus contributing to crystallizing a discourse on Egypt’s ‘labour problem’. Drawing on sources produced by government officials and experts, we argue that the rise and expansion of this specific educational field contributed to rethinking the role of education in relation to the country’s economic development. In a context where the educational system was initially designed to produce civil servants, the rise of technical education was linked to broader debates around the relationship between education and economic development, and around the notion of individuals as an economic resource.