THE OCCUPATIONAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS ANALYSIS (OERA) SYSTEM IS A RESEARCH EFFORT DESIGNED TO DEVELOP A FEASIBLE METHOD OF PROJECTING VOCATIONAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS THAT WILL SATISFY LABOR MARKET NEEDS. THE OUTPUTS OF THE OERA WILL BE ANNUAL PROJECTIONS OF EMPLOYMENT DEMANDS IN OCCUPATIONS CLASSIFIED BY VOCATIONAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS. THESE WILL REPRESENT THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NEEDED IN POSITIONS FOR WHICH THAT TYPE OF VOCATIONAL PREPARATION WOULD HAVE EQUIPPED THEM RATHER THAN THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES WHO WILL HAVE RECEIVED THE VOCATIONAL PREPARATION. THE OERA SYSTEM CONSISTS OF A THREE-STEP PROCESS--(1) IT ASSUMES EMPLOYMENT PROJECTIONS TO A TARGET YEAR FOR EACH OF A NUMBER OF ECONOMIC SECTORS, (2) IT ASSUMES HAVING INFORMATION ON THE PROPORTION OF TOTAL EMPLOYMENT IN EACH ECONOMIC SECTOR WITH THE SELECTED TYPES OF EDUCATIONAL PREPARATION, AND (3) THE END RESULT IS OBTAINED BY MULTIPLYING EMPLOYMENT, SECTOR-BY-SECTOR, IN THE SPECIFIED STATE OR LOCALITY BY THESE PROPORTIONS AND SUMMARIZING BY THE TYPE OF EDUCATION. PRELIMINARY COMPUTER RUNS HAVE PROVIDED DATA THAT ARE INDICATIVE OF FUTURE POSSIBILITIES ONLY, RATHER THAN SUITABLE FOR CURRENT USE FOR PLANNING PURPOSES. A CLASSIFICATION OF ECONOMIC SECTORS AND A DESCRIPTION OF THE COBOL AND FORTRAN COMPUTER PROGRAMS ARE INCLUDED. (MM)