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This report describes two innovations within community colleges designed to contribute to workforce preparation in the USA. These are the integration of academic and occupational education and tech-prep programs that link community colleges with secondary schools. The report aims to demonstrate the many forms the innovations take and to clarify their benefits to students, employers and the community colleges themselves. The report contains four sections. Section one, 'Federal initiatives and other support for innovation in workforce preparation', which outlines the different sources of support for curriculum integration and tech prep. Section two, 'Integrating academic and occupational education to enhance student achievement', contains the following sections: Combining academic and vocational content in individual courses; Combining academic and occupational perspectives; Tandem courses, clusters, and learning communities; Capstone courses; Basic skills and English as a second language in occupational contexts; Benefits of curriculum integration; Costs of curriculum integration. Section three, 'The community college role in tech-prep', contains the following sections: Community college activities in tech-prep; Factors limiting change within community colleges; Emerging tech-prep models; System building and the future of tech-prep. The final section, 'Requirements for the future', summarises the benefits of the innovations and highlights future needs including changing the culture of community colleges and ensuring institutional commitment, stability and administrative leadership in order to institutionalise ongoing support for curriculum integration and tech-prep.