While the acquisition of skills has become a major public need, there is increasing dependence for their provision on individual firms. These firms can have no responsibility for general needs with government action being restricted to residual care for the unemployed rather than contributing at the leading edge of advanced skills policy....

All firms wrestle with restructuring, involving consolidation of mergers and acquisitions on the one hand, and fragmentation through outsourcing and spin-offs on the other....

As many countries in the world seek to improve their economic performance by increasing their vocational education and training, Japan is being looked to as a leader in this field--the ideal model to imitate....