Technological and vocational education has played a very important role in the development of Taiwan's economy. The purpose of this research is to examine the determinants of competitiveness with a focus on differences between public and private institutions in Taiwan's HTVE system. Determinants of internal and external factors were identified, and a competitiveness index was established. Results found that faculty teaching performance and completeness of curriculum design were the major determinants of internal factor. Financial support from government was the most influential determinant of public institutions in external factor, yet private institutions considered population growth rate was the most important one. Despite of top 3 institutions of both types, private universities seem possess relatively more competitive advantages than their public counterparts, and public colleges seem possess relatively more competitive advantages than their private competitors. (Contains 10 tables and 1 figure.)