Training in government is not a primary mission for a variety of reasons, and this book attempts to increase the importance of training in government organizations by showing how training can increase individual performance and overall productivity. Sims challenges recent commission findings that excellence in training government workers is not a priority and offers a framework to better centrally manage governing training efforts.

Sims has designed the book to help government organizations (federal, state, county and local) demonstrate the value added of efficient and effective training programs. In addition, the book offers a helpful discussion on the differences between private and public sector organizations and the training issues germane to each sector (for example, the availability of financial resources alloted for training in the private sector far outweigh those in the public arena). He concludes is that if training is functioning in government, then it is contributing to the activities of the organization in a number of different ways (for example, improving performance through the application of what has been learned).