In summer 1983, a study was conducted by Johnson County Community College to assess the job prospects and manpower requirements of Kansas City area business and industry. The study sought to determine employers' perceptions of the skill levels and educational/training requirements of their employees, prospects within selected job categories, and current and anticipated use of computer technology. A sample selected from the 35,000 companies in the Kansas City area included all companies with 100 or more employees and a random sample of those having fewer than 100 employees. Based on responses from 432 companies (15% of those surveyed), study findings revealed: (1) the respondents rated basic reading, math, and writing; communications; and interpersonal skills as the most important present and future employee skills; (2) the jobs rated as having the best prospects were salesperson, data entry operator, processing technician, and computer programmer; (3) the minimum educational requirement for the vast majority of jobs was a high school diploma, while a certificate or associate's degree was required for most skilled trades and a bachelor's degree for professional positions; and (4) a majority of the responding companies used computers for bookkeeping, data processing, and records management, and 80% anticipated using computers for all routine office operations in the future. Appendices include current and projected employment summaries, and the survey instrument. (HB)