AREA SKILL SURVEYS ARE DESIGNED TO PROVIDE COMPREHENSIVE INFORMATION IN INDIVIDUAL LABOR AREAS OF CURRENT EMPLOYMENT AND FUTURE LABOR REQUIREMENTS, BY SPECIFIC OCCUPATIONS, AND TO ASCERTAIN TRAINING NEEDS TO FULFILL THESE REQUIREMENTS. THIS HANDBOOK DESCRIBES PROCEDURES AND TECHNIQUES TO BE USED IN THE SURVEY. IT INCLUDES THE PRELIMINARY WORK PRIOR TO INITIATING THE SKILL SURVEY, INFORMATION TO BE COLLECTED FROM EMPLOYERS, METHOD OF COLLECTING THE DATA, A SAMPLE PUBLICITY RELEASE TO INSURE COMMUNITY AWARENESS OF THE SURVEY'S IMPORTANCE, AN EXAMPLE OF A PRESURVEY LETTER, NONRESPONSE FOLLOWUP PROCEDURES, INSTRUCTIONS FOR PARTIAL RESPONSE, A SAMPLE SURVEY SCHEDULE WITH INSTRUCTION FOR ITS PREPARATION, SELECTION OF THE EMPLOYER SAMPLE, INSTRUCTIONS FOR TABULATING THE SURVEY DATA, A SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE FOR OBTAINING FUTURE LABOR SUPPLY FROM SCHOOLS AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, METHODS FOR SUMMARIZING THE DATA, AND AN OUTLINE FOR PRESENTATION OF THE SURVEY FINDINGS. (PS)