Onboarding plan
Career and Technical Education Teacher Onboarding Plan (30-60-90 Days)
A practical, printable plan to take a new career and technical education teacher from first day to full productivity.
Career and Technical Education Teacher onboarding at a glance
Week one covers orientation, safety and shadowing. Days 1–30 build vocabulary and supervised practice on core procedures; days 31–60 move to independent work with competency sign-offs; days 61–90 focus on full productivity, cross-training and a credential plan.
Before day one
- Confirm start date, schedule, pay and supervisor in writing
- Verify required credentials: State CTE teaching license, Industry certifications (as applicable)
- Prepare equipment and access: trade-specific tools and equipment; simulators; safety equipment; learning management systems
- Assign a buddy or preceptor
- Enroll the new hire in Career and Technical Education Teacher training so foundations are covered before or during week one
Week one: orient and protect
- Workplace tour, emergency procedures and incident reporting
- Require PPE and safety training for all equipment
- Inspect tools and machines regularly
- Supervise students closely in shops
- Keep first aid and emergency plans ready
- Shadow an experienced career and technical education teacher through a full shift
- Training modules 1–3: role foundations, a day on the job and essential vocabulary (15 terms)
Days 1–30: learn
Goal: perform core tasks safely under supervision.
- Supervised practice: teach a shop safety lesson
- Supervised practice: prepare students for an industry certification
- Supervised practice: build an employer partnership
- Training modules 4–7: duties, step-by-step tasks, tools and safety
- 30-day check-in: confidence, questions and early wins
Days 31–60: contribute
Goal: handle a regular workload independently.
- Teach hands-on career skills: independently
- Plan lessons aligned to industry standards: independently
- Prepare students for industry certifications: independently
- Maintain shop and lab safety: independently
- Competency sign-offs completed (see checklist below)
- Training final knowledge check and certificate of completion
- 60-day check-in
Days 61–90: own
Goal: full productivity and a growth plan.
- Meet productivity and quality targets for the role
- Begin cross-training on a secondary task
- Agree on a credential goal (for example, State CTE teaching license)
- Discuss the career path: Industry Professional → CTE Teacher → Program Lead
- 90-day review
Competency checklist
| Skill or task | Trained | Observed | Signed off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach a Shop Safety Lesson | |||
| Prepare Students for an Industry Certification | |||
| Build an Employer Partnership | |||
| Trade or technical expertise | |||
| Lesson planning | |||
| Shop safety management | |||
| Industry certification preparation |
How to measure onboarding success
- Time to independent classroom work
- Observation and evaluation scores
- Licensing or compliance findings
- First-year retention
How Career and Technical Education Teacher training maps to this plan
- Introduction to the Career and Technical Education Teacher Role
- A Day on the Job
- Essential Career and Technical Education Teacher Vocabulary
- Core Duties and Responsibilities
- Common Tasks, Step by Step
- Tools, Equipment and Technology
- Safety, Compliance and Professional Standards
- Skills Employers Look For
- Launching Your Career and Technical Education Teacher Career
- Final Knowledge Check