A study was undertaken to examine the factors that influenced the decision of firms to provide training for their employees. It also identified the types of training provided, how the training function was organized and administered within firms, and the extent to which firms provided formal training programs for their employees. The study was based on 100 indepth interviews with Ontario (Canada) firms that were engaged in formal training programs for their employees in 1987 and a mail survey of a sample of all firms in Ontario (563 usable responses from an initial sample of 2,394). Most firms that provided formal training programs viewed training as a necessary part of doing business. Their primary objective was to gain a competitive edge by improving the performance of their employees and their ability to adapt to new technologies. Firms that train gave the managerial, supervisory, and sales groups the highest priorities for training programs. The majority of firms filled job vacancies by recruiting qualified workers in the external labor market and prepared them with short-term training programs. Most training programs provided by private sector firms were shorter than 2 weeks in length and concentrated on providing specific skills. Responsibility for planning, budgeting, delivery, and evaluation of training programs was generally not highly structured and tended to be delegated to departmental or branch managers within firms. (The survey methodology is appended.) (YLB)