For a competitive advantage, Ohio must be sensitive to three national trends that will reshape its work force: the growing gap between the skill requirements of jobs and workers' capabilities, the slow growth of the labor force, and demands of a global economy. The future competitiveness of Ohio's economy will depend on its capacity to support the development of high performance organizations. A comprehensive work force development strategy for retraining Ohio's current labor force must be designed. Ohio's work force development mission is to achieve and maintain a high performance work force. Development strategies should be directed at three essential goals: to make Ohio businesses more competitive in the global marketplace; to ensure that all Ohioans achieve the skills and abilities needed to succeed in a high performance workplace; and to help all Ohio families to become self-sufficient. Four strategies are recommended to achieve these goals: create a high performance business climate; improve the performance of Ohio's education system to ensure that all students acquire the basic skills necessary to compete in a global economy; establish comprehensive and coordinated work force training programs that will help all workers acquire the skills and abilities needed to function effectively in high performance organizations; and remove the major barriers to employment and self-sufficiency for Ohio workers and families. (YLB)