A study examined the relationship between economic growth and compulsory education, vocational education and training, higher education, and the education and training of managers in Great Britain in the period between 1944 and 1988. Deficiencies in language and mathematical skills were found among completers of compulsory education, participants in the Youth Training Scheme, and even in many university students. Britain's performance at the intermediate vocational training level was found to be especially poor compared to that of other European countries. Low participation rates in advanced secondary education and poor preparation for the world of work were cited as areas of particular concern and were linked at least partly to an antitechnology, antivocational, and antiindustry bias on the part of providers of teaching and training services. The problems of the British education and training system were deemed at least partly responsible for problems in the following areas: skills and competitiveness, innovation and research and development, and resource utilization and personnel management. The problems plaguing Britain's education and training system were attributed not to lack of resources but rather to a combination of misallocation and poor use of the resources that have been allocated to the system. (Contains 480 references; 14 figures/tables.) (MN)