This paper looks at the selection of students in Australia for trades-based prevocational or pre-apprenticeship courses. Selections for two types of courses are considered in the paper: (1) pre-apprenticeship courses that focus on a particular trade area and usually lead to credit in only one apprenticeship course; and (2) prevocational courses that introduce the student to a number of trade areas and lead to credit in several apprenticeships. The paper is organized in five chapters. Chapter 1 discusses issues in selection, including rationale, selection for particular courses, and other issues. In Chapter 2, research on selection methods for entry into pre-employment and part-time trades courses is reported both for Australia and for other countries. Chapter 3 provides a description of current Australian selection processes for pre-employment courses in each of the states or territories. Chapter 4 contains a discussion of equity of access to education and the selection process, while the final chapter makes recommendations on selection, equity of access, selection tests, and research and evaluation. Extensive references are provided. (KC)