| Public policy concerning employment and training has increasingly focused on assuring that programs are responsive to the needs of participants in the labor force. This study explored some of the many reasons individuals in Florida enrolled in and selected particular vocational programs for training.; The benefits of such a vocational education participation study were: (1) Data are generated for local use based on information provided on a local basis. (2) Analysis of data provides insight into career ladders, geographical and occupational mobility, and entrants and re-entrants in the labor force. (3) Program planning is enhanced by the availability of current, timely, and geographically relevant occupational data. (4) Program evaluation is enhanced by the ability to study former vocational participants and determine the relevance of their training to labor force participation.; This study provides vocational educators with needed facts and information about significant elements of planning within their respective regions. The research offers local vocational educators another means by which to justify education training using current labor market employee surveys.; The purpose of the study was to analyze various factors related to differences in vocational education participation in Florida prior to and after employment for individuals in selected occupations. The data collected were used for: (a) statistical analyses of the differences in vocational education participation, (b) description analyses of age, sex, and race in relation to the selected occupations, and (c) career decision-making analyses of personal reasons given for participation in various vocational programs in Florida.; The population involved in the study were those individuals in Florida currently employed in the specified occupations. The sample came from a random selection of individuals employed as: farm equipment mechanics, veterinarian assistants, correction officers and drafters.; Data were collected by means of interviews. Chi-square and binomial proportion statistics were used to analyze the extent of participation in vocational education programs. The demographic responses were displayed in relation to employment in the selected occupations. The reasons for participation responses were grouped into the major determinants of the O'Neil career decision-making model. |
