At least 154 employment training programs (ETP) providing approximately $25 billion in employment training assistance are currently administered by 14 federal agencies. Individually, these programs are all well-intended. Collectively, however, they have been described as bewildering and frightening to clients and confusing to those who operate them. Many programs do not tailor services to the needs of unemployed persons, and some programs do not know whether or not their participants obtain jobs. At least 21 separate federal and state committees/councils perform interprogram coordination functions. Past efforts to fix the ETP system have fallen short. What is needed is a major structural overhaul and consolidation of ETP is needed that will create a customer-driven employment system consisting of significantly fewer programs with the following guidelines: simplicity, tailored services, administrative efficiency, and accountability. (Appendixes constituting nearly two-thirds of this document include the following: proposed FY94 funding levels of federal ETP by agency; number of ETP programs, agencies, and proposed FY94 funding; comparison of authorized ETP by five main components of services for economically disadvantaged persons; and U.S. executive branch agencies responsible for ETP; flows of funds for adult basic skills programs in Washington and Massachusetts; and problems with the current system of federal ETP.) (MN)