This report consists primarily of employer views on hiring practices and training needs in 17 occupations in five occupational areas (office work, distribution, service, communications, and crafts). Described first are the activities of the Labor Market Information Network that resulted in the compilation of data presented in the report. The following topics are discussed in a section on office work: clerical occupations reexamined and the emergence of word processing, word processing in the public sector, the office of the future, and computer occupations reexamined. Covered in the chapter on distribution are freight traffic, international trade, international banking, and warehousing. Various facets of the service occupations are examined, including customer contact, social service employment in the areas of job development and child care, and travel agency work. The following occupations/areas are dealt with in a chapter on crafts: dental laboratory technicians, manufacturing by small firms, energy-related occupations, and cable television. The final three sections include a discussion of technical assistance provided during the project, listing of project participants, and general conclusions relevant for occupational training that were drawn from the data collection procedure. (MN)