Nonformal education programs operating in the modern sector in Ethiopia are described in a perspective relevant to the Ethiopian context. The modern sector is defined as those activities concerned with the manufacture of goods, extraction of raw materials, the processing of raw materials, the provision of services, and the creation and maintenance of certain types of infrastructure such as communications, roads, railroads, and air transportation. Following the introduction, which contrasts the modern sector with the rural traditional sector and discusses recent manpower studies in Ethiopia, a second section discusses the various formal vocational and comprehensive secondary schools. Information is provided on enrollment, statistics on graduate employment, and each school's ability to teach students saleable skills. A third and major section discusses each of the following three classifications of nonformal education training programs for the modern sector: Preservice training programs, vestibule training programs, and inservice training programs. The conclusions section describes characteristics which are general to all of the nonformal education programs and then outlines five points which the author feels could be used to explain the lack of or the success of vocational education programs. (SH)