In fall 1988, the Board of Directors of the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST) created a task force to study the training needs of the mining industry in the province and evaluate SIAST's responsiveness to those needs. After assessing the technological changes taking place in the industry, surveying manpower needs, interviewing industry representatives, and visiting other colleges offering mining or petroleum programs, the task force reached six conclusions: (1) the content of SIAST's programs was generally adequate to meet the present and ongoing needs of mining in the province; (2) in many programs, the equipment used for instruction was obsolete; (3) the delivery systems were insufficiently flexible to meet marketplace needs; (4) the partnership potential with industry and the community was significant but almost completely unrealized; (5) SIAST did not have the independence from government needed to fulfill its mission; and (6) the system of public education in Saskatchewan was not necessarily using limited resources in the most efficient and effective manner. Under the assumptions that government would reduce funding and demand more efficiency, that industry would demand a more skilled and adaptable workforce, and that lack of support from powerful constituencies could lead to drastic retrenchment at SIAST, the task force developed three major recommendations: (1) SIAST must restructure itself into an independent, market-sensitive, performance-oriented organization by making organizational changes, improving programs, and developing partnerships with business and industry; (2) SIAST should commit the resources necessary to develop an explicit implementation plan for achieving these goals; and (3) Minister of Education should appoint an independent body to conduct a comprehensive and objective review of public education in Saskatchewan. (JMC)