An overview is presented of vocational education in Hawaii. The first two sections define vocational education and contrast it to employment training, emphasizing the need for coordination between secondary and postsecondary programs. Noting the impact of federal funding laws, the next section describes the composition and responsibilities of the state boards, councils and offices concerned with vocational education in Hawaii and the relationships among them. The federal role in vocational education is covered next and significant federal legislation in the field is reviewed since 1972. The accomplishments of vocational education are then illustrated in terms of steady enrollments, program completions, employer satisfaction, sex equity, and professional personnel training. The following section examines the challenges for vocational education in the 1980's. These include fiscal austerity which may require the curtailment of programs, support services and expansion; the role of vocational education in solving national problems of unemployment, poverty, and social dislocation; increasing accessibility to programs; outreach to populations not yet served by vocational education; achieving equity in programs; and new demands for professional development activities. The report provides data tables and charts throughout. (KL)