The Tech Prep Associate Degree (TPAD) program must be clearly focused on technician-level occupations, which are expected to have the greatest occupational growth. Generally, the preparation required to enter the work force at the technician level is completion of an associate degree program that includes 50 percent theory and 50 percent applied vocational-technical or related instruction. In most instances, use of technology in the workplace dictates the preparation needed to perform the role of a technician. According to the literature on "high tech," service industries lack the glamour of high tech, but technology innovations have changed the skill requirements of workers; technology extends human capabilities, is applied human knowledge, is application based, and exists in both physical and social domains. The emphasis on integrating academic and vocational-technical education could not have come at a better time. "Doing" and "thinking" must be combined if the TPAD program is to prepare technicians successfully for the workplace. Research shows that entry-level electronics technicians are expected to have both academic and vocational-technical skills. Seven TPAD pilot projects underway in West Virginia should reveal how the public school and higher education systems can work cooperatively to serve students and the state. Educators, business, government, and parents must work cooperatively to carry out the TPAD work force preparation program. (YLB)