TRAINING NEEDS ARISE BECAUSE PEOPLE, JOBS, AND ORGANIZATIONS CHANGE; THAT IS, PEOPLE COME INTO AND MOVE THROUGH ORGANIZATIONS, NECESSITATING TRAINING. IN ADDITION, CHANGES IN TECHNOLOGY AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE REQUIRE RETRAINING OF EMPLOYEES. THE DECISION TO PLACE PEOPLE INTO A TRAINING PROGRAM REQUIRES THAT OFFICIALS IN CHARGE OF TRAINING PROGRAMS DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN REAL AND IMAGINED PERFORMANCE DISCREPANCIES. THEY MUST DETERMINE WHETHER THESE DISCREPANCIES ARE A RESULT OF SKILL GAPS OR MOTIVATIONAL PROBLEMS. SUCH OFFICIALS CAN USE JOB INFORMATION, OBTAINED THROUGH JOB ANALYSIS, TO HELP MAKE SUCH DETERMINATIONS. TRAINING DECISIONS CAN BE MADE ON THE BASIS OF THE CONTENT AND EXTENSIVENESS OF JOB DESCRIPTIONS. TO BE USEFUL, A JOB DESCRIPTION SHOULD INCLUDE INFORMATION ON WHAT WORKERS DO IN THE JOB, HOW THE JOB IS DONE, AND WHAT IS USED IN DOING THE JOB (E.G. TOOLS AND SAFETY FACTORS). THE VARIED OUTCOMES OF JOB ANALYSIS CAN BE UTILIZED IN THE TRAINING PROCESS IN SUCH AREAS AS ESTABLISHING TRAINING OBJECTIVES AND STANDARDS, IDENTIFYING REQUIRED SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE, AND DESIGNING VALID PERFORMANCE TESTS. JOB-ANALYSIS INFORMATION MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO DEVELOP SPECIFIC TRAINING OBJECTIVES AND THUS ENABLES MORE PRECISE EVALUATION OF TRAINING RESULTS. REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED.