The North Central Indiana Workplace Literacy Initiative seeks to develop a curriculum management system addressing work force literacy needs and a coordinated human resource investment system meeting individual economic self-sufficiency needs and labor market needs. The workplace of the future will contain six key changes: employers will require higher-level skills; educational systems must provide job and life skills; competencies must extend beyond basic skills; schools should provide employability skills to graduates; learners should connect school and "real world" experiences; and employers must value high performance and quality management. Educational changes that reflect workplace needs include the six national educational goals and America 2000, a strategy for achieving them. Seven minimal entry-level competency areas are essential in the workplace, based on survey and focus group results: (1) resources--time, money, materials/facilities, and human resources; (2) information--acquires/evaluates, organizes/maintains, interprets/communicates, and processes; (3) interpersonal skills; (4) systems; (5) technology; (6) learning to learn; and (7) math/computation. Three appendices are included: the five competencies comprising workplace know-how, identified by the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills; learning to learn proficiencies; and a description of the North Central Indiana Private Industry Council and the Center for Remediation Design.) (NLA)