Schools recruit local employers to serve as advisory board members for vocational education trades in their field. These advisory board members meet three to four times throughout the year to give feedback and advice to teachers and administrators about what changes are needed to the curriculum to make it more applicable to current industry needs.
Teacher and administrators can often get sample curriculums and teaching guidelines from education standards created by industry organizations. For example, the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) provides training and curriculum guidelines for vocational training in construction.
The state school board or agency that oversees vocational education programs can also be a resource for training. This board is often tasked with setting the minimum requirements programs must meet to receive funding from the state. Schools can use these requirements to help create and improve vocational education programs.
Vocational education conferences are an ideal place for training and education resources. Teachers and administrators have the opportunity to speak with other vocational educators at these gatherings. Through discussion they can get ideas, feedback and techniques to use in their own programs.