This document, resulting from a 3-year study, provides an overview of technical training in the United States, examines the occupations and workers defined as technical, describes where and how technical training is produced and delivered, and discusses the connection between technical training and the strategic goals of the organization. The document's intended audience includes executives and managers, personnel and human resource development workers, trainers, vocational educators, higher education administrators, and business and management consultants. Chapter 1 explores what constitutes technical training, the size and scope of the technical work force, how technical workers are prepared for their jobs, and how they keep their technical skills up to date. Chapter 2 examines how technical training is structured inside employer institutions and analyzes the systems that employers use to deliver technical training and how those systems are connected to strategic goals. Chapter 3 looks at the many providers of technical training--from educational institutions to original equipment manufacturers to vendors--and explores how employers and providers share information about technological trends and future training needs to forge partnerships for developing and delivering training. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 contain examples of how some of the nation's largest employers organize and deliver technical training to their work force; centralized, decentralized, and integrated systems are explored. The document concludes with a list of representative groups of occupations among technical professionals, technicians/technologists, and skilled trade workers and a 33-item bibliography. (CML)