This is a study of adult job retraining in further education and industry. Through indepth case studies of a small number of chemical and engineering companies and one college of further education, it attempts to develop an understanding of the broader relationship between further education, industry and government as it pertains to retraining. Data was collected by unstructured interview and participant observation. Supporting data was collected by means of postal questionnaires. The thesis is divided into four parts. Part one examines national government training and retraining policy; a policy characterised by ambiguity and ambivalance. Part two reviews the development of further education, and assesses the adult job retraining provision within one particular college. Part three examines retraining in industry and describes the enterprise restructuring under which retraining took place in three chemical companies. On the basis of findings outlined in Parts two and three, Part four asks whether further education is equipped to provide the type of retraining which industry believes it requires. The thesis concludes that, because industry and further education acknowledge two different concepts of retraining, a structural disengagement occurs. Further education seeks to provide individuals with general competencies whereas industry is concerned with enterprise specific retraining. The remainder of Part four examines the retraining experience from the point of view of trainees and students and looks at the way skills, in the context of training and retraining, undergo reconstruction. This thesis contributes to an area which is currently under-researched; and at a time of structural change within industry and further education, issues relating to retraining become important. The thesis examines this restructuring and suggests ways in which retraining can be reorganised for the benefit of industry, communities and individuals.