This occasional paper appraises the implications of occupational training families (OTF) for further education (FE) in Great Britain. In the early sections, the document sketches the background of OTFs and appraises the advantages and disadvantages of the concept. In so doing, four possible approaches to helping young people acquire flexibility, versatility, and the ability to learn are described: through general education, occupational grouping, occupationally based training, and basic skills. The paper identifies OTFs as a variant that groups jobs by 11 key purposes and concludes that in providing a broad-based youth training, OTFs have no particular merit. The report also discusses the usefulness of OTFs to job competence, progression, and skill ownership; the conclusion is that OTFs could be disadvantageous to skill development. The report describes the ways in which FE relates to OTFs. It is felt that in some cases there is little to be gained by using the OTF listings, but that there is some value in using the concepts related to training for skill ownership. The document is intended to place OTFs in perspective and to assist FE teachers and others in evaluating the usefulness of OTFs. (KC)