ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a series of conditions under which education, and vocational education in particular, would be effective as a mechanism of economic development. A major strategy for economic development has been for state and communities to lower costs to businesses in order to attract them from other states and communities. An increasingly popular solution to the complaint that firms cannot find the kinds of employee they need has been to establish customized training. The chapter examines a series of issues that must be faced by states thinking of using their vocational education systems as mechanisms of economic development. The issues include: the balance between vocational education at the high school level and at the postsecondary level and the balance between general and specific training in vocational education. It also includes: the development of planning and evaluation mechanisms to keep education and training programs in line with labor market opportunities.
