Focusing on contributions of educational resources to the growth of nonfarm enterprises in small towns and sparsely populated areas of the Southeast, this paper discusses four major problems which are at least partly amenable to educational solutions and examines various educational means for overcoming those problems. Research and development literature concerning industrialization in the rural Southeast discloses the following problems: tendency of industries not to locate in areas containing numerous poor; shortage of rural residents with managerial expertise; relatively slow growth of high-wage, high-technology industries; and unpreparedness of rural people for small business opportunities. Although some difficulties have been discovered in applying them, the following educational means serve to foster rural industrialization by linking education and economic development in the public/private sectors: upgrading the skills of low-income rural workers through improved general and vocational education programs, plus employment training for youth and adults; preparing management personnel through company and school sponsored programs; using Extension training for management leadership development; aiding the growth of technology-dependent industries by emphasizing technological and scientific education; and using vocational, Extension, and community enterprise programs to teach needed business skills. (CM)