Reasons for the failure of the Manpower Development and Training Act (MDTA) of 1962 to meet its major objective of alleviating skills shortages are recorded and analyzed. The lack of skills shortages was admitted to be the main reason for the shortcomings in performance, although the term "skills shortage" had yet to be defined and skills shortage occupations had not been identified. Of 905 demand occupations identified in 14 labor market areas, 156 occupations fell within MDTA's scope and of these, there were institutional manpower training programs for 88. Other inhibitors of program effectiveness and related problems include: (1) lack of a system to define or identify demand occupations at the local level, (2) restrictions imposed on present job training programs, and (3) the questionable benefits to be derived by adding additional training programs. Data were collected nationally by examining hard-to-fill job orders at government employment services, performing a want-ad analysis, and interviewing over 25 employers as well as others knowledgeable about manpower conditions. Numerous tables present the data. (A few pages may be illegible.) (AG)