After discussing the conclusions of a Congressional Budget Office study, which recommended that federal aid be redirected from colleges to secondary programs more directly related to job training, this paper examines the need to plan general and technical education within the framework of national productivity. The decreasing productivity rate of the United States is noted first, as is America's increasing trade deficit and the decline of the domestic auto industry. The exacerbation of these problems by the frequent inability of industry to find workers who are competent in both basic skills and modern job-related technologies is examined prior to a discussion of the need to decrease the time lag between the training needs of emerging industries and curricular offerings. The paper then discusses the growing technological nature of the workplace, noting studies which forecast an increased demand for technically trained workers, increasing competition for middle-level supervisory positions, and a growing number of underemployed college graduates demanding technical training at community colleges. The paper concludes with suggestions urging colleges to: (1) provide basic skills training which will enable semi-literate young workers to compete for entry positions; (2) provide technical retraining for older workers who have not achieved supervisory positions; and (3) form a partnership with industry to allign the curriculum with needed job skills. (JP)