In order to assess the performance of vocational education in Rochester, New York, it is first necessary to consider the city's major economic and demographic trends. On the one hand, Rochester is a center for highly technical industries that are expected to experience a very slow rate of growth. On the other hand, it is characterized by an increasingly disadvantaged minority group central-city population. It is precisely this central-city population from which most of the city's vocational education participants come. Only one vocational high school exists in the city, and interviews with school administrators indicate that the vocational education program in the regular secondary schools is rather limited and rudimentary in character. The city's adult level vocational education program is assisted by the presence of several colleges and universities. In addition, a number of Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) programs provide adult vocational education opportunities. Analysis of the city's economic climate, demography, and existing vocational education programs reveals the following needs areas: improved counseling and recruitment efforts, increased concentration on postsecondary programs, more emphasis on generalizable skills, and efforts to improve the image of the city's vocational education program. (MN)