The United States is facing a great crisis: skills gaps in the work force imperil the nation's future. The crisis is elementary: the United States is not educating and training its citizens to be productive and competent members of the work force. Consequently, its people are not qualified enough to meet the demands of the high-technology economy of today and tomorrow. Unless reform is undertaken, the outcome is obvious. Faced with hiring from an uneducated and illiterate pool and saddled with the extra cost of training poorly educated workers, U.S. industry will lose the global economic race. Given the failure of the U.S. system of education, training and retraining in industry have assumed great importance. But industry's expenditures are constrained by the need to remain profitable. Although actions are underway at all levels, these initiatives do not go far enough. The U.S. education system needs to be overhauled, not just remodeled or restructured. A cultural revolution is needed. Educators at all levels, including administrators, as well as unions need to start acting as if they, too, have a part to play in producing a technically competent work force. Their futures depend upon it as much as the nation's does. Concerned, cooperative leadership in the Federal Government is needed, along with leadership from business and industry, unions, local and state governments, and associations. Such action is imperative for the future of the country. Chapters deal with the technical labor force, the global marketplace, U.S. education, the workplace of tomorrow, and current programs. Chapters include graphs and a list of citations. The document includes a 233-item bibliography. (KC)