A study concentrated on the occupational goals of academic staff in British higher education who work for some or part of their time as practitioners of continuing vocational education (CVE). The sample consisted of 27 academic staff working in 3 polytechnics, 4 universities, and 1 polyversity and 3 Regional Development Agents (RDAs). The instrument was a semistructured questionnaire, identical for all academic staff and slightly modified for the RDAs. All respondents believed the main purpose of CVE was to encourage good relations on behalf of the institution and the local community by providing high quality training responsive to market needs. Senior staff and practitioners described excellence in a CVE practitioner in terms of personal characteristics and knowledge- and skill-based characteristics. They felt the purposes of staff development were updating in subject-specific knowledge and skills training for CVE. All respondents regarded standards of performance with respect to teaching as being implicit and identified formal and informal mechanisms for feedback. Factors that motivated lecturers to work in this area related either to personal satisfaction or career goals. Senior academic staff most often identified organizational barriers as barriers that prevented good practice from being realized. Practitioners also cited career, status, and conditions of service and barriers concerned with income generation. (The instrument is appended.) (YLB)