This document describes the Business and Industry Forum conducted by the South Carolina Council on Vocational and Technical Education to solicit public input on the present and future needs of business and industry, how the companies represented perceive the role of secondary vocational and postsecondary vocational education in today's society, and the private sector role in the education of today's work force. Following introductory material on the council and the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act that mandates the council, the document describes the demographics and employment situation in South Carolina. The next section explains the purpose of the forum, how participants were selected, who participated, how they were prepared, and the forum audience. The largest section contains 23 questions and responses from the forum participants, covering: current requirements for employment; training and retraining programs; dropouts, handicapped persons and other special needs populations; the companies' relationship to vocational and technical education; promotions of employees; and employers' needs during the next 5 to 10 years. The council's recommendations include emphasizing basic skills in all occupational programs and also teaching interpersonal skills and desirable work behavior; making sure teachers of programs in which computers are used are proficient at computers; adding occupational specialists to help students make career decisions; and adding cooperative and apprentice programs. The appendices contain an agenda, glossary, and eight references. (CML)