Profound changes in the economy and the labor market have an effect on the role of employer-sponsored training in preparing and educating the country's work force. On the demand side of the labor market, these changes include the increase in international trade, the changing economic status of the United States relative to its trading partners, the continuing increase in the role of services in all sectors of the economy, and the diffusion of computers and sophisticated communications equipment. Supply-side developments include the increasing average levels of education and the depletion of reserves of labor, either from rural areas, from among women not engaged in paid labor, or from the relatively large cohorts of young people who can be brought into the economy at low levels. In many industries, these developments have brought about profound changes in markets, technologies, work organization, and industry structure, which in turn have reshaped human resource strategies and educational training requirements. As a result of the changes in the economy and the labor market, firm-based education will play a more important role in preparing the country's work force than it has in the past. Firms that can successfully integrate work and learning into the ongoing operation of the business will have an important advantage. (41 references.) (KC)