Community colleges have the opportunity to systematically link their mission and role to national economic purposes and human resource development strategies. To take advantage of this opportunity, community college leaders, at the national, state and institutional levels, must be willing to commit to a new understanding of the roles these institutions must play in the post-industrial, high-technology society. In fall 1981, in an effort to formulate a national two-year college strategy in the area of career education/training and to link two-year colleges to the emerging national economic agenda, an American Association of Community and Junior Colleges (AACJC) task force was formed to address the prospects of "Putting America Back to Work," through, for example, the development of a National Small Business Training Network, work to improve communications about and understanding of the Job Training Partnership Act, and a Kellogg Foundation initiative designed to provide assistance in building a network of public and private sector organizations committed to human resource development. Future steps of community colleges should emphasize: (1) the goal of excellence and the achievement of high standards; (2) improved worker productivity and related work habits; (3) institutional change and adaptation in support of the nation's economic development agenda; (5) high technology applications and careers; and (6) the educational applications of technology, computers, microwave transmission, and other tools. (LAL)