These 24 essays look at what is wrong with federal employment training efforts and offer ideas for building a more effective system. A preface describes "The Governance of Federal Employment and Training Efforts" (Halperin). An "Introduction" (Zuckerman) discusses the sources of these essays that explore the implications of private industry councils, one-stop shopping, vouchers, certification, funding levels, community-based services, and coordination of many different programs. The essays are grouped by client's perspective, community organizations, policy analysts, educators, and government, business, and labor. Titles and authors are as follows: "Young People's Response to Job Training 2000" (Higgins and others); "Counsel to the Employment and Training Community and My Child" (Masters); "Systems Are Built from the Ground Up" (Butler); "The Employment Thing" (Kaplan); "Equal Access, Pay, and Opportunities for Young Women" (Wurf); "The Essential Elements of Job Training" (Velazquez); "A CBO (Community-Based Organization) Perspective" (Harris); "Youth Service Providers' Response to Job Training 2000" (Tennyson and others); "The Critical Missing Element, A Community-Based Perspective" (Stoneman); "Community Empowerment and CBOs: A Thirty-Year-Old Synonym" (Taylor); "Job Training 2000: A Local Critique" (Baker); "Job Training 2001: A Case Odyssey" (Dorrer); "Critiquing Job Training 2000" (Magnum); "Job Training 2000: Not Even Chicken Soup" (Walker); "Bring Job Training into the Mainstream" (Guttman); "The Devil Is in the Details" (Pines); "Reforming Training with Good Intentions" (Levitan); "Do the Prescriptions Provide the Cure" (Wills); "An Educator's Perspective" (Litow); "Good News, Bad News for Job Training" (Barrios-Paoli); "Job Training 2000: Timely Idea, Incomplete Initiative" (Hemmings); "Job Training 2000: A Step in the Right Direction" (Lundine); "The Principles Are the Key" (Kolberg); "A Labor View on Jobs for Young People" (Roberts); and "Job Training 2000 Doesn't Go Far Enough" (Twomey). Brief author biographies and information on the National Youth Employment Coalition are appended. (YLB)