Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop a thinking model to recommend to the vocational education institutions for planning their educational business in the face of marketization. Design/methodology/approach: The systems approach is adopted for developing the model. It is not only used for the conceptualization of the principles of systems, but also applied as the technique for reviewing and proposing where and in what direction the institutions should improve their business plan to meet the transformational change. Findings: The current objective and strategy of the institutions are found to be necessary, but not sufficient for meeting the real challenge of marketization. The model recommends the vocational education planners to focus on the new objective of satisfying individuals' working needs and improve the process of course design to enhance the competitiveness of the institutions in the open market. Practical implications: The proposed new dimension of business planning has two implications for vocational education practitioners. First, course design should start with taking the individuals' perspective to decide how their working needs can be met. Second, it is necessary to explore new methods for collecting, interpreting and incorporating the voices of working needs into the design of contents and features. Originality/value: The thinking model offers an objective and rational approach to vocational education planners and practitioners for formulating a holistic business plan to meet new challenges. It is hoped that the recommendations will assist the institutions to perform their changing roles in the new economy of the society and to achieve long-term success in the dynamic environment. (Contains 3 figures.)