The mission of vocational education has always been to provide a skilled work force for society. As society and work evolve through the influence of demographic, social, economic, technological, and political changes, the essential purposes of vocational education must be made appropriate for the emerging advanced technical society. To devise scenarios for creating preferred alternative futures, a combination of three perspectives can be used. The futuristic perspective involves assessing society and work by forecasting what can be, what is likely to be, and what should be. In the holistic perspective, an audit of current conditions considers the implications of a global economy, international competition, and scientific advances for vocational education. The outcomes perspective is derived from research on outcomes of education that yields new criteria for evaluation of education and training. From these perspectives, alternatives can be developed involving increased or diminished emphasis on vocational education. Staffing the education and training system of the future thus revolves around such issues as vocational teacher supply and demand, recruitment, and retention. The transition to an advanced technical society necessitates the redesign of the education and training system through (1) policy targeted at research and human resource development, (2) leadership that can implement the concepts of strategic planning to create visions and preferred scenarios, and (3) cooperation of a broad range of institutions and education and training providers in the realization of these visions. A five-page list of references concludes the document. (SK)