Vocational and Trade School Faculty

Trade School Requirements and Criteria

In the United States, requirements for teaching vocational and trade school classes are established at the state level. Overall, the median annual salary for vocational teachers is $49,851, but salaries are comparably lower for part-time teachers, and one in three vocational and trade school teachers is employed part-time. Women are more likely than men to fall into that category because of family commitments.

Because states establish their own criteria for vocational and trade school teachers, requirements for such teachers vary greatly. In general, applicants must possess professional competence in their chosen fields, and they may need a college degree before being allowed to teach the nonvocational courses required for students seeking four-year degrees. Although most states only require baccalaureate degrees, a few stipulate that these teachers hold master's degrees.

On a global basis, most countries have established specific criteria for teaching in vocational schools or becoming professional “trainers.” In 2002, Henrik Faudel, author of a report analyzing vocational education in transitional democracies interested in becoming members of the European Union, concluded that a country's specific requirements often directly affected women's entry into the profession.

Slovenia, for instance, required a university degree plus a period of training. Bulgaria required only a degree in the relevant field of study. Lithuania required only that vocational teachers have a degree one level higher than that of their students. Because of easy access to the profession compared with teaching at the college/university level, more women began entering the field. In Bulgaria, for instance, 70 percent of vocational teachers are now women. In comparison, 68 percent of vocational teachers in Slovakia are female, as are 60 percent of those teaching in the Czech Republic. The overall findings revealed that as a result of women dominating the field of vocational education, the profession has begun to be marked by comparably low salaries and a loss of prestige.

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