The main purposes of vocational education are to provide individuals with the skills they need to attain economic freedom and to enhance the productivity of local, state, and national economies. Vocational education programs exist to serve all peoples and to aid in providing all skills needed for the individual to attain and keep a job related to his/her needs and skills that will serve employers' needs. Vocational education achieves its purposes through three basic types of roles: principal roles, shared roles, and support roles. Vocational education's principal roles are preparing all persons for work for entry jobs, upgrading, retraining, and cross training; and providing orientation to work. Vocational education shares the following roles with other groups in the community: job placement; economic development; productivity and efficiency; individual assessment; and human resource development. The major support roles for vocational education are helping to develop the basic or fundamental educational skills required in the work that the vocational student expects to perform; helping to develop survival and living skills of students; and assisting in the area of national defense by providing skilled workers. Vocational education is carried out on three government levels--local, state, and federal. Each level has distinct responsibilities, although these responsibilities should be exercised in partnership. (KC)