An exploratory study was conducted to evaluate the utility of a method to demonstrate that Australian enterprises that invest in the training of their employees gain a return from that investment through an increase in employee productivity. The method, which compares enterprise expenditure on training of personnel with labor productivity across a small group of enterprises producing similar products or providing similar services, derives from a method that has been used successfully in intercountry comparisons in Europe. Case studies were undertaken in the following industries: footwear manufacture; wire products manufacture; four- and five-star hotels; and supermarkets. The enterprises studied were located throughout Australia. The method yielded clear-cut results in footwear manufacturing, where each dollar invested in training of nonmanagerial personnel each year resulted in an average of $58 in value added. The results within wire products manufacture were less clear-cut. Of the five enterprises compared, only four suggested a relationship between training expenditure on nonmanagerial personnel and productivity. The method proved ineffective for the two service-based industries (hotels and supermarkets). (Twenty-five tables/figures are included. The bibliography lists 66 references. The following items are appended: 34 additional tables; proformas for quantitative data; instrument for structured interviews; and the employee questionnaire.) (MN)