Guidance and vocational education personnel have continued to play key roles in responding to individual and societal needs that have arisen as a result of the occupational, social, and economic changes occurring over the last 80 years. Guidance programs serve as the link between providing occupational training and employment readiness for the eventual transition to and satisfaction in the workplace. A total guidance team requires a variety of trained professionals to provide services in areas such as self-assessment; career awareness, planning, exploration, and decisions; work experience; coping with work; economic realism; work and training options; job placement and job progression; and followup. Guidance and counseling programs can contribute to the goals of vocational education by strengthening depressed communities, meeting the nation's need for qualified workers, keeping vocational education relevant, energy conservation and generation technology, responding to client groups needing more services, and responding to the nation's equity goals. When assessing improvements needed in vocational education legislation, one must consider the fact that guidance is a program and that guidance programs (1) are developmental and comprehensive, (2) focus on individuals' competencies and not just their deficits, (3) are built on a team approach, and (4) mandate articulation. (MN)