Global competition, sweeping technological change, and demographic shifts in the labor force call for a national campaign to improve the skills and professionalism of the American workforce. This document calls for the creation of new learning partnerships throughout communities and workplaces to sustain middle-class jobs, pay the social costs of health, education and retirement, and preserve capabilities that are necessary for American national security. The Albert Shanker Institute and the New Economy Information Service partnered on the Task Force on Workforce Development to bring together leaders from business, labor, academia, and community service, to find solid agreement on the proposition that the future strength of the American economy rests in large measure on the skills and adaptability of the American workforce. Noting that the scope of such an endeavor should not be another centralized and bureaucratized government program, the task force advocates as a key goal the creation and development of learning partnerships that bring together federal, state and local governments, large and small businesses, labor unions, educational institutions of all kinds, and employees themselves. Key recommendations include: (1) Creation of learning partnerships; (2) Building on existing efforts; (3) Alignment of government programs; (4) Encouraging efforts by the business community; (5) Encouraging efforts by labor organizations; and (6) Promoting cultural change in the workplace. While acknowledging that the scope and resources needed for the advocated strategy extend well beyond current practice, the document maintains that learning partnerships assisted by learning representatives have already had considerable success in an array of circumstances in the United States, and are the basis for a national program currently being implemented in Britain. (Contains 42 endnotes and 1 table.)