In the second half of the 1980s, Kalamazoo Valley Community College (KVCC) in Michigan played a leadership role in three multi-partner coalitions: Education for Employment (EFE); the Southwest Michigan Coalition for Tech Prep (SMCTP); and the Kalamazoo Valley Partners for Quality (KVPQ). In the EFE partnership, KVCC works with the Kalamazoo Valley Intermediate School District and its nine constituent public school districts, as well as business and industry, to help prepare K-14 students for the world of work. In elementary school, students are exposed to work-habit skills; in middle school, they participate in career exploration activities; and in high school, EFE students are introduced to "Tech Prep," a 6-year technical-training program beginning in 9th grade, and ending after 2 years at KVCC. The SMCTP is a 14-member alliance among KVCC, 4 sister community colleges, and representatives of 9 intermediate school districts, whose members share knowledge and resources to improve Tech Prep programs. The KVPQ, formed partly in response to the planned closure of a local General Motors plant, is an alliance of job training providers, the Kalamazoo Chamber of Commerce, and the Creating Economic Opportunity Council. The KVPQ's goals are to better meet the training and retraining needs of businesses, to help promote economic development, and to give public and private organizations a mechanism for investing in the community's overall training needs. The KVPQ's initial grant from the Michigan Department of Education will allow the consortium to retrain 1,368 employees at 4 area industries. (PAA)