The Vocational Instructor Preparation (VIP) program is a systematic approach to the induction of new career–technical teachers and/or instructors into the teaching profession. It is designed to assure that these new teachers achieve their potential during the period of special licensure—up to three years of initial employment of nondegree and noneducation-degree career–technical teachers.

The VIP program was planned and developed by personnel from the Mississippi Department of Education’s Office of Career and Technical Education and the Research and Curriculum Unit at Mississippi State University with leadership and direction from a steering committee.

The VIP program has as its goal to induct new teachers into the profession and guide their development during the special licensing period. Most teachers in this category are given up to three years to accomplish the matriculation from a “special” license to a “standard” license. The VIP program is a sequence of professional development activities that begin with employment and progress from “most important to know immediately” to activities that meet long-term needs of teachers. The VIP program consists of sequential steps in the process of developing the newly hired “special” licensed teacher into a “standard” licensed teacher.