In January 2026, our teacher pipeline survey of The Toolkit readership asked about preferences on effective strategies when it comes to maintaining their skilled trades programs. The “Grow Your Own” strategy of actively recruiting past and recent alumni to take over programs led with 28% of our more than 500 respondents.

Teachers were asked: “Does your school/district have a plan for finding a replacement/maintaining your program when you leave?”

Here are some of the compelling responses shared by teachers:

• “We are building a house for Tech Ed student teachers to live in for free while finishing their teaching degree. We want to find the right person who can keep building our program to offer as many opportunities for students interested in the trades.” – Teacher of 21-30 years, retiring/leaving in 1-5 years
• “We are training students to be employable in all fields, including teaching. If they are interested in becoming instructors, we start them as lab assistants to see if they can deal with new students. Then, help build their teaching skills.” – Teacher of 21-30 years, retiring/leaving in 11-15 years
• “My Career and Technical Education Department is focused on recruitment and alternative paths to teacher certification through industry and ‘education while you work’ incentives.” – Teacher of 11-15 years, retiring/leaving in 11-15 years
• “I have been mentoring a former student to replace me when I retire. He is currently teaching at another tech school.” – Teacher of 21-30 years, in the last year of teaching
• “My school plans to find an appropriate candidate and phase them in during the last year of any retiring staff member.” – Teacher of 21-30 years, retiring/leaving in 11-15 years
• “They always require teachers to complete an intent form each year. So, if you have future plans on retirement or wish to move to another position within the district, human resources department will know about the upcoming vacancies and plan accordingly.” – Teacher of 11-15 years, retiring/leaving in 1-5 years