Under the pressure of economic conditions and the stimulus of the Industrial Training Act, industrial and commercial firms in Great Britain are acting more and more in the belief that training is inseparable from the mainstream of their activities. This pamphlet is concerned with issues of practical importance in this context: the relative importance of training directed to different levels of skill; prediction of likely performance as a basis for selection of trainees; the role of training officers in higher decision-making; and techniques for evaluating the return on training expenditures. Included are chapter references, an interview form, a training system outline, cost effectiveness curves, and statistical data on labor force skills, occupational and employment trends, recruitment and training expenditures, and course results from two experimental pre-apprentice programs. (ly)