An overview is presented of the many developments affecting occupational choices and training needs in the 1980's. The study seeks to develop an understanding of the growth rate through 1985 of 123 selected occupations in nonprofessional fields, examines important characteristics of these occupations such as earnings level, educational attainment, and the representation of women and nonwhites, and relates the growth rate and characteristics of the selected occupations to actual and projected enrollments in vocational education programs. These overall findings emerged from the study: (1) About two-thirds of the job openings are expected to arise from the replacement of attrition losses, and only one-third from employment growth; (2) the nation's commitment to equal employment opportunity will result in only modest changes in the occupational distribution for women and somewhat greater changes for nonwhites; (3) the concentration of employment in occupations yielding low incomes is especially marked for women and nonwhites; (4) a sharp decline in the proportion of employed persons with less than 12 years of schooling is expected; (5) there are significant divergences between job openings and vocational enrollments anticipated in the 1980's, and (6) demographic changes will increase the importance of adults with labor force experience as the source of enrollment growth in vocational programs. (Author/NJ)