In this section of a larger work on manpower development, a West Virginia labor leader, a former university president, and the Under Secretary of Labor examine the present and potential relevance of formal education and training. Criticizing the inability or unwillingness of educational institutions to adapt to the needs of disadvantaged youth and adults, the labor leader calls for a reexamination of present approaches to elementary, secondary, and higher education in Appalachia. The second author asserts that American universities can and should exercise leadership in manpower development and planning by providing for research and experimentation, agricultural extension in depressed rural areas, improved cooperation with the public schools, and an expansion of continuing education. The Under Secretary of Labor urges more adequate integration of Federal efforts with those of other institutions and agencies engaged in manpower development, suggests that educational institutions be made more relevant to the world of work and more responsive to the problems of dropouts, and calls upon labor to assume leadership in efforts to alleviate unemployment. (ly)