Developed as a resource to assist in a major revision underway in Georgia area technical schools to change curricula for preparing engineering technicians, this preliminary program-planning guide describes curriculum structures for specialized programs in three major areas--electronics, electromechanics, and mechanics. The handbook, which is intended for use by six pilot schools that will begin testing the new high-technology programs in the fall of 1982, describes course outlines and student competencies for all courses in the first year of the curricula. Covered in the four sections of the guide are the following topics: training the technician (rationale, purpose and objectives, technicians defined, faculty and staff, and accreditation); curriculum organization (course groupings, minimum credit requirements, curriculum development, and materials development); curriculum design; and curriculum content. (MN)