The literature on business involvement in education in Canada, the United States, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Japan, the United Kingdom, and other European countries was reviewed. Special attention was paid to the following topics: workplace trends/changes; skill requirements/deficits; youth employment/unemployment; integration versus separation of vocational and academic curricula; education spending; school leavers; organizations interested in school-to-work transitions; apprenticeships; vocational/career guidance/counseling; government role in education for work; cooperative programs; continuous learning; industry-based education; training of teachers/trainers and teacher education/development; and assessment of skills/knowledge. The literature regarding the Japanese and continental European experience identified a history of cooperation among business, labor, and government in developing/delivering high-quality youth training that was not present in Canada. Like Canada, however, the other countries studied were struggling with the issues of global competitiveness, faltering economies, social tensions induced by immigration, high unemployment, long-term welfare dependency, and a changing workplace. It was concluded that Canadian policymakers and educators must develop a school-to-work transition system possessing the following traits: responsive to the concerns of industry; flexible; committed to quality; and oriented toward integration of academic and vocational education and provision of career education, guidance, and support and opportunities for lifelong learning. (Contains 88 references.) (MN)