In 1990, Cuesta College (CC) conducted a needs assessment of local employers to determine the type of work done by their employees, number of employees, hiring plans, the current level of employee training, and training needs. The mailed survey had 266 usable responses for a 40.9% return rate. Study findings included the following: (1) 31% of the respondents were in retail and wholesale trades, and 30% were in the service industries; (2) employers planned on hiring more full-time professional workers and part-time unskilled workers during the next year than any other type of full-time or part-time employee; (3) for the coming year, the highest growth rate for new jobs was expected to occur in retail trade and manufacturing, while public administration/government was expected to experience the greatest number of new jobs; (4) on-the-job-training was by far the most important source of initial employee training for all but professional employees; (5) clerical workers were most likely to have received their initial training at a community college, followed by farm managers and technical workers; (6) 57% of the employers provided in-house, on-the-job training after employment, and almost half provide regular in-house training; (7) 32% of the employers were familiar with the types of training available at CC; and (8) employers who rated CC cited high quality of classes, availability of the college, and the number of courses offered as what they liked most, and problems created by location, distance, or transportation as what they "liked least." Tabulated response data for each of the survey items, and the questionnaire and cover letter are appended. (JMC)