To identify central problems in vocational education in Alaska, a study focused on the three sectors at the postsecondary school level: public or independent nonprofit institutions, private schools, and apprenticeship programs. Public and nonprofit institutions consider job preparation their primary goal in addition to skill upgrading and teaching practical skills. Graduation rates of their primarily minority group students appear to be extremely low. They lack sound labor market information for program planning and pay little attention to student placement. Their strengths are geographic accessibility, low tuition, and minimal entrance requirements. In contrast, private schools have more stringent enrollment requirements, better linkage with the labor market, and high rates of program completion and job placement. Apprenticeship programs have the most stringent entrance requirements, serve a narrow range of students, and best exemplify vocational program planning based on labor market demand. Vocational education problems in Alaska occur primarily in publicly supported institutions. These are (1) confusion about teaching job preparation versus practical skills as goals of vocational education, (2) lack of information on the Alaska labor market, (3) lack of attention to job placement and development, (4) low numbers of program graduates, and (5) lack of financial assistance for unemployed non-native Alaskans needing vocational training. (YLB)