The document contains the twelfth statement from the National Advisory Council on Vocational Education. It calls for a strong national policy towards vocational education and emphasizes the growing importance of vocational education in manpower development and the national economy. The lack of a national policy in vocational education has created problems in the definition of responsibilities in various sectors of education and training. A national policy is needed in order to define these responsibilities and to measure the effectiveness of vocational education as well as provide directions for its development and implementation. (EC)