How to hire a vocational teacher

How to hire a vocational teacher, step by step

Here's a step-by-step vocational teacher hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a vocational teacher job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new vocational teacher
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your vocational teacher job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a vocational teacher for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a vocational teacher to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a vocational teacher that fits the bill.

   This list presents vocational teacher salaries for various positions.

   Type of Vocational Teacher	Description	Hourly rate
   Vocational Teacher	Career and technical education teachers instruct students in various technical and vocational subjects, such as auto repair, healthcare, and culinary arts. They teach academic and technical content to provide students with the skills and knowledge necessary to enter an occupation.	$15-32
   Teacher Internship	Teaching interns are individuals who assist teachers and educators in the classroom. The interns are instructed to fulfill the tasks set out and provided by the supervisors for them... Show more	$16-32
   English Language Arts Teacher	English language teachers are in charge of establishing a classroom setting that advance in each student the skills of reading, writing, listening, and speaking. They assist in the development and recognition of fine literature of all types, inspire students to read extensively for information and recreation, and develop guidelines for analytical judgment of written and oral communication... Show more	$17-29

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Behavior Management
   • Instructional Materials
   • Vocational Education
   • IEP
   • Student Grades
   • A+
   • Assessment
   • Vocational Training
   • Classroom Management
   • Windows
   • Training Effectiveness

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead debates with advance students on topics including globalization, economics, and political history.
   • Maintain accurate and complete student IEP records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
   • Instruct students on curriculum and follow IEP.
   • Develop course syllabus and meet and challenge student learning.
   • Disaggregate Meap scores for all caseload and grade level students.
   • Attend workshops and meetings that discuss teaching techniques and students' assessment.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your vocational teacher job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A vocational teacher can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, vocational teachers' average salary in idaho is 45% less than in alaska.
   • Seniority. Entry-level vocational teachers 52% less than senior-level vocational teachers.
   • Certifications. A vocational teacher with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a vocational teacher's salary.

   Average vocational teacher salary

   $46,546yearly

   $22.38 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level vocational teacher salary

   $32,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average vocational teacher salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Massachusetts	$63,536	$31
   2	Texas	$55,445	$27
   3	New Jersey	$55,416	$27
   4	California	$53,024	$25
   5	Florida	$45,364	$22
   6	Maryland	$43,413	$21
   7	South Carolina	$36,883	$18

   Average vocational teacher salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Boston Public Schools	$67,406	$32.41	5
   2	Baltimore City Public Schools	$57,590	$27.69	3
   3	Universal Health Services	$51,665	$24.84	25
   4	Southern California Seminary	$45,399	$21.83
   5	The Camphill School	$45,187	$21.72
   6	My Florida Regional Mls	$43,233	$20.79
   7	Florida Dept. of Health	$37,160	$17.87
   8	State Of Florida	$36,540	$17.57	25
   9	Florida Department of Transportation	$35,845	$17.23

4. Writing a vocational teacher job description

   A job description for a vocational teacher role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a vocational teacher job description:

   Vocational teacher job description example

   Click here to see campuses calendars for the 2022-2023 school year.
   
   * Provide Instructional support for the vocational adjustment class taught by the Special Education teacher and serve as a member of the ARD/IEP committee for students in the VAC class program.
   * Evaluate student's pre-vocational skills and behaviors to assist in vocational placement.
   * Perform activities related to employer development, job development, and job placement for students with mild to severe disabilities enrolled in the VAC class program.; provide on-site job coaching as needed.
   * Act as campus consultant and resource person for Individual Transition Planning (ITP) issues.
   * Attend and support activities to promote competitive employment/supported employment opportunities and community integration.
   * Conduct a job analysis of the task/routine and write a comprehensive training plan when needed.
   * Counsel students on job-related and personal issues; conduct parent education and training meetings related to the transitional process.
   * Attend workshops to keep abreast of the latest programming issues in Transition and Vocational Education for students with disabilities.
   * Collect annual follow-up information on students who have graduated.
   * Work with local campus to ensure VAC students are properly coded and appear on the database.
   * Perform all other duties as assigned.
   * Regular and punctual attendance at the worksite is required for this position.
   
   WORK ENVIRONMENT:
   
   The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. Travel throughout the district is integral to this job. A remote working environment /alternate work arrangement is not an option for campus-based employees/campus-based positions because regular and punctual attendance at the worksite and performing all duties at the worksite are essential job duties for all campus-based personnel.
   
   * Bachelor of Science Degree in Secondary Special education or Vocational Education
   * Valid Texas teacher certificate with required Special Education endorsements.
   * Three years of successful teaching in Special Education and/or experience with state and Federal Rehabilitation Agencies, adult service providers, and the Dallas business community.
   * Demonstrated willingness to improve competency by periodically participating in some form or professional growth.
   * Demonstrated ability to evaluate student's pre-vocational skills and behaviors to assist in vocational placement.
   * Demonstrated ability to interact with the local business community to develop employers, jobs, and job placements for students.
   * Demonstrated ability to conduct parent education and training meetings.
   * Demonstrated flexibility to cope with the challenges of a rapidly changing world.
   * Demonstrated willingness to remain current with the latest developments in the profession.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find vocational teachers for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any vocational teachers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level vocational teachers with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your vocational teacher job on Zippia to find and recruit vocational teacher candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as k12jobspot, learn4good, serious teachers, teachingjobs.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting vocational teachers requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new vocational teacher

   Once you've found the vocational teacher candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new vocational teacher first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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