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This publication examines the current state of workplace learning and the evolution of employer-dominated training within the context of the changing workplace. The author begins with an overview of the evolution of employer-dominated training from Taylorism to the significant economic changes of the 1970s and 1980s, including the emergence of human resource development and the concept of the learning organisation. The author then describes the extent of workplace reorganisation in the United States of America (USA), and of private sector training and organisational learning, and the compatibility between the purpose and implementation of training. It is suggested that workplace learning be worker centred, addressing the role of workers, labour unions, and adult educators. Some examples of training initiatives of organised labour in the automotive industry are used to investigate to what extent labour participation affects the scope and nature of workplace learning. In conclusion, the implications for workers, employers and policymakers are discussed.