Applicants to a high school health career orientation program were followed for three years after graduation. There were 235 participants and 271 in the control group. Groups were fairly matched in age, grade level, prior exposure to health work, and interest in health occupations. Controls were above-average academically. Participants served in a 6-week summer program, worked under close supervision in 35 health career areas in hospitals and health-related agencies, took field trips, and received supplementary guidance. Participants showed low drop-out rates and high levels of expressed satisfaction ; were likelier to engage in extracurricular health-related activities ; studied and trained more; explored more before making an employment choice; showed higher levels of job satisfaction, higher earnings, and less turnover.During the past 20 years, problems associated with youth unemployment have attracted increasing attention. Two related yet distinct approaches to alleviating this condition have been identified : increasing placeability and increasing employability ( Dayton, 1978; Neff, undated).Placeability refers to the supply of suitable positions that can be generated by labor market mechanisms for qualified job-seekers. Such efforts as the CCC and WPA of the 1930s and the CETA program of the 1970s represent national responses to managing strain that results when the normal market system fails to provide adequate opportunities for those seeking jobs. By and large, national policy has not favored comprehensive programs to reduce or prevent high levels of joblessness by deliberately altering the economic substructure itself.On the other hand, efforts to reduce unemployment by increasing employability have enjoyed considerable vogue. Employability focuses on changing the personal characteristics of the prospective job-seeker through training, counseling, or like procedures.