The Illinois Council on Vocational Education (ICoVE) launched a statewide study in 1990 to understand the perspectives of business and labor on what vocational education can do to prepare the work force with the skills necessary for the future. The study was designed to build new public-private partnerships. It included a survey of businesses and labor representatives, followed by eight roundtable discussions held across the state to obtain private sector input on two issues in vocational education: (1) What goals should the private sector and educators pursue in improvement efforts? and (2) What strategies should be used in building public-private partnerships in improvement efforts? The survey asked respondents (1,120 of 5,500 businesses and 26 of 50 labor representatives) for their degree of support for 18 goals organized under 6 areas: responsiveness to industry; basic skills; stronger academic skills; work-based learning; student certification and program performance; and teacher training and certification. Findings included the following: (1) applied basic skills have the top priority; (2) stronger requirements for advanced academic skills should be formulated; (3) teachers need current industry knowledge and work experience; (4) high standards and incentives for improvement should be established; (5) programs should be responsive to employment opportunities and skills standards; (6) career counseling should encourage students to explore options; and (7) the private sector's role in partnerships should be strengthened. (Seven recommendations and names and addresses of ICoVE committees supporting the project are listed.) (NLA)