FOR SOME TIME NOW IT SEEMS TO ME THAT TRAINING HAS BEEN caught in a number of vicious circles whereby the increased internal efficiency of training events (be they courses, seminars, or workshops) has not increased their external effectiveness; for example, on the criteria of improved performance back on the job. This phenomenon can be explained in terms of organisational theory, by showing that training has not taken adequate account of the environment or, in a more limited sense, if related to a specific job, the context in which a job is done. Training works best in a stable environment where most factors are predictable. A stable environment is one where the critical factors are not changing and with regard to training it means that the skill acquisition is related directly to a known situation. In the development and use of a technology for organisational analysis, which in the CAP/ITB context means that it is based on the Contingency Theory of Organisations, the environment is considered to be a major factor in any situation. Later a case study will elaborate on how the environment sector of our model can be used at company, department and individual levels. This enables an analysis of individual jobs to take place which takes account of both the internal (department) environment and the external (company and outside company) environment.