In August, we surveyed skilled trades teachers from The Toolkit readership about industry partnerships with their high school programs. Questions covered who initiated the partnerships, how to find and build these relationships, what benefits and support industry partnerships bring to the table, and more. We received 93 responses which revealed teachers themselves, by far, do the heavy lifting.

The most prevalent opportunities respondents say industry partners provide for their students are:

• Industry tours/site visits
• Guest speaker engagements
• Equipment/material donations
• Paid internships/apprenticeships
• Job shadowing
• Mock interviews/hiring events

When teachers leverage their connections wisely, they can see a multitude of resources and support from their industry partners:

“They tour our shops and give us feedback on what we need to add or remove to keep our programs current with industry. We also go over curriculum and discuss what our students need to be trained on to better help them after high school,” said one welding teacher.

“Our industry partners provide valuable support through live demonstrations and presentations in many different aspects of the industry, professional development and training on new emerging technologies, and access to late-model vehicles for hands-on learning. They also participate in community outreach initiatives that involve our students, giving them opportunities to apply their skills while experiencing the importance of giving back and helping those in need within our community,” said an automotive/collision teacher.

“Opportunities to strengthen our program through a variety of methods. Some also offer professional development opportunities such as this summer I was part of a two day “Bootcamp” for teachers with some of the local trade unions in our area, learning about their programs and what we can do to prepare our students for a career in the skilled trades,” said one agricultural mechanics teacher.