• Vocational education teachers, commonly called career and technical education (CTE) teachers or career-technology teachers, instruct and train students to work in a wide variety of fields.
• Career and technical education courses train students to enter a particular career and prepare them for the world of work.
• Career and technical teachers in middle and secondary schools may be introducing students to a trade or skill for the first time.
• They often teach courses that are in high demand by area employers, who often provide input into the curriculum and offer internships or apprenticeships to students at the secondary school level.
• Many vocational teachers play an active role in building and overseeing these partnerships.
• Additional responsibilities of middle and secondary school teachers may include providing career guidance, helping with job placement, and following up with students after graduation.
• CTE teachers may teach in traditional comprehensive schools. Within comprehensive secondary schools, CTE teachers may be part of a career academy where they work closely with academic colleagues to create a career-themed, school-within-a-school.
• They may teach in a regional CTE centres that serve students from many districts who come for half-days. Other CTE teachers may teach in a CTE secondary school where students are in shops and labs for most of the school day.
• At the secondary school level, the focus is on preparing students to enter the workforce or to continue on to additional training at the postsecondary level.
• In addition, CTE teachers aim to reinforce and strengthen material learned by their students in academic classes.
• To achieve these ends, teachers use a variety of techniques and methods to ensure that students understand the material, such as classroom lectures, hands-on activities done in a laboratory, experiential or work-based learning, and involvement in co-curricular organizations.
• In the classroom, CTE teachers lecture students on the theories and techniques used in the field.
• They may discuss the history of the profession or laws and regulations that govern the industry.
• In addition, teachers may provide demonstrations of tasks, techniques, or tools used in the field. In the lab, teachers assign the students tasks, oversee their progress, and assist students as they encounter problems or need additional instruction or direction.
• Experiential or work-based learning allows students the opportunity to apply what they have learned in the classroom in real world settings.
• Students may use class time to work in the field at a business willing to let them learn on the job, and the business provides feedback about the student’s performance to the teacher.
• In some schools, students may run businesses that are owned by the school, such as the school store, to apply their knowledge and skills in a non-classroom setting.
• Finally, CTE teachers may serve as the advisor for co-curricular student organizations that provide students with additional opportunities to reinforce what they have learned in the classroom.
• How teachers use these different settings and techniques varies with their specialized field. These fields include agricultural science, family and consumer science, health occupations, business and marketing, trade and industry, and technology education.
  • In agricultural science, students learn a wide variety of subjects related to the science and business of agriculture. Classes may cover topics like agricultural production; agricultural-related business; horticulture; agri-science; small animal care; veterinary science; and plant, animal, and food systems. Teachers in this subject may have students plant and care for crops or tend to animals to apply what they have learned in the classroom.
  • CTE teachers in family and consumer science teach students about culinary arts; sewing; child development; family and consumer services; and food science, dietetics, and nutrition. Students in these settings may run early childhood education classes with teacher supervision, manufacture and market clothing, or create menus and cook for a school function.
  • In health-related occupations, students learn the skills necessary to work as technicians or assistants in the medical field. This may include learning the skills necessary to become a nurse or dental assistant. Teachers in this field may have students practice their skills by measuring blood pressure or practicing fundamental tasks like administering blood sugar and blood type tests on other staff in the school. Some programs allow students to receive the certifications necessary to enter the field.
  • Business and marketing students learn the skills necessary to run a business or make sales. They may learn computer programs or how to market a product. They may also learn the basics of financial management for a business. CTE teachers specializing in business and marketing may spend time with students in computer labs to teach them computer skills, or they may guide students as they develop and establish a business. Many programs operate school-based enterprises where students operate real businesses open to the public.
  • CTE teachers in trade and industry may cover a wide range of topics, such as auto mechanics, cosmetology, heating and air conditioning, electrical wiring, television production, computer networking and computer repair, or auto body repair. These teachers specialize in one of these areas and teach classes in their area of expertise. Many teachers in this field use lab work extensively to allow students to learn with a hands-on approach.
  • Teachers in technology aim to teach the same subjects that are taught in general education classes, such as math and science, through technology. This may include supervising students as they build a robot to learn about physics, computer science, and math. This type of program is often seen as a precursor to engineering programs.

• Teachers who are geographically mobile and who obtain licensure in more than one subject are likely to have a distinct advantage in finding a job.
• Growth in this occupation will be slowed somewhat by an increased focus on traditional academics subjects, like reading and math, and away from career specific training at the middle and secondary school levels.
• As a result, growth in the employment of vocational education teachers may be limited.

Teaching requires the ability to communicate ideas well, motivate students, and be creative. Workers in other occupations that require these skills are

Counsellors; Education administrators; Librarians; Teachers- Kindergarten, elementary, middle, and secondary; Teachers-pre-school, except special education; Teachers-special education