The reasons why Australians choose to enroll in vocational education and training (VET) programs were examined through a questionnaire survey and site visits. The questionnaire yielded responses from 1,501 VET students of a target sample of 3,000 students who were equally representative of the following fields of study: business, engineering, health and community welfare, and tourism and hospitality. The site visits covered a representative sample of 11 public and private VET institutions and included interviews with institute management, department heads and teachers, counselors, and students. Some representative employers were also interviewed. Work experience or employment proved far more influential than any other factor in learners' choice of a VET program, followed in order by parental or guardian influence, performance in school subjects, advertising booklets or handbooks, personal experience of study at a college or university, personal friends, and employers. (Nineteen tables and 81 references are included. The following items are among those appended: sampling plan; list of groups sampled; background information statistics; tables detailing respondents' employment and educational histories, factor analysis of reasons for selecting the VET course; information about the sites visited; interview schedule for the site visits; and lists of employers interviewed and participants.) (MN)