The development and performance, through 1981, of Private Industry Councils (PICs) in 16 study sites are described and assessed in this report. (PICs were set up under Title VII of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) to serve as a hub for attracting increased private sector involvement in employment and training activities for the hard-to-employ.) Following a discussion of the assessment framework used, Chapter 2 describes the key 1981 events and changes which affected the study PICs and discusses the roles PICs came to play in their respective sites. Chapter 3 reviews programs and activities mounted during 1981 by the study PICs, with particular emphasis on features which made PIC programming distinctive. Chapter 4 presents the perceptions and opinions of businesspeople about PICs and other employment and training issues. Chapter 5 analyzes performance data for the study PICs during 1981, comparing it with that of CETA "Title II-B,C" in the study sites and also with 1980 performance outcomes. Chapter 6 offers conclusions and recommendations based on the experiences and lessons of the project. Appendix I, an important and integral part of the overall report, presents site profiles and discusses how each PIC has or has not made a difference in its site. Appendix II is a capsule history of the Private Sector Initiative Program nationally. (CMG)