Neoliberal governments consider global business competitiveness to be thwarted by costly bureaucratic regulation and programme duplication. In an effort to downsize the costs of operating a state, the governors now streamline job training functions via a coordinated workforce and economic development effort known as sector strategies, with vocational education and training (VET) institutions matched to named industry clusters. The policy initiative is meant to revitalise the economic climate of communities, helping those faced with extensive job loss and resulting social decay. This article describes the state sector strategies and explains the employer-driven model that charges the public community colleges with management of regional knowledge assets. (Contains 5 notes.)