A recent survey of retailing firms, ranging from single stores to nationwide chains, showed that the most significant human resources challenge facing these organizations is how to attract and retain qualified employees. Faced with the many changes in the retailing industry and in the composition of the work force that have taken place over the past three decades, retail firms are beginning to question how to select better employees and how to improve worker performance. Although some remedial courses in mathematics and in communication skills do exist in retail business-run training and management development programs, remedial training is not generally seen as the responsibility of business. Instead, the retailing industry maintains linkages with educational institutions, utilizing programs such as work study and tuition refund. Because industry's views of education have changed over the years, more information is needed about the relationship between industry's employment considerations and the development of basic skills. Possible agendas for research in this area could include examinations of the reasons for the lack of qualified persons for higher sales and supervisory positions, increased employee turnover, and employee obsolescence and declining job performance. (MN)