In April 1992, 16 individuals who were all employed in manual or nonsupervisory jobs and who had all participated in employer-funded adult education courses offered partly or entirely during work hours attended a weekend retreat in the north of England. They spent the weekend talking and writing about their experiences with work-based learning, its effect on their lives, and the broader benefits of work-based education programs. This book presents the collected writings of the weekend program's participants. The writings are in various formats, including reports, essays, and poems. In the introductory section, two participants describe their involvement in workplace learning and its significance in their lives. The writings in chapters 1 and 2 describe typical workdays in the lives of service occupation and factory workers, and the poems and essays in chapter 3 focus on the participants' reasons for taking work-based adult education courses and the personal and career benefits of the courses. The works presented in chapter 4 offer reasons why giving employees access to education during work time benefits employers and include points for employers to consider when developing work-based learning programs. In chapter 5, participants offer their views of the weekend retreat. (MN)