This report is the product of a project called Investing in People, in which the National Conference of Legislatures and Jobs for the Future helped five states as they tried to develop and implement work force preparation and training strategies to meet the challenge of a competitive global economy. The report is organized in six sections. The introductory section explores the concepts of workplace modernization and work force development and suggests strategies for a new system of work force development. The second section summarizes the recommendations of several national organizations, including the Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, the National Alliance of Business, and America's Choice Legislative Coalition. In the third section, the following principles for work force system design are listed: lifelong learning, school-to-work transition, skills standards, assessment and certification, developing high-performance workplaces, incentives, national and state employment and training boards, local employment and training boards, coordinated funding, one-stop shopping, case management, labor market information, market competition, and standards and outcome measures. The fourth section contains case studies of human resource delivery systems in New Jersey, Oregon, and New York, with information on the enabling legislation, structure and governance mechanisms, scope of delivery systems, and accountability measures. The following key policy considerations are examined in the fifth section: the structure and process of design and implementation, the political environment, private sector involvement, scope of integration, regulatory environment, financing issues, flexibility, portability, accountability, and capacity building. A short concluding section and a recommended reading list citing 14 items complete the report. (KC)