Forum the insiders' debate

We talk a lot about the public debate in this or in that but for most of the time public debate is either listless or a sham. Callaghan's public debate on education, for instance, never got off the ground, for all the whipping into action it suffered. But today things are stirring, probably for the first time in this field of employment and vocational preparation. Politicians have picked up the topic as a live issue. Even so, it is too much to hope for that informed discussion on the subject could take place either in public or in Parliament, because of its complexity. Where the debate is most likely to take place is among the leading practitioners themselves. There has always been a steady stream of spirited communications to this journal in keeping with its leadership role and its independence. Some of these are simply personal letters to me telling me what is going off, putting me in the picture and, now and again, letting the cat out of the bag. Quite a few are intended to tell me where I am going wrong; sometimes, though more rarely, readers write to tell me where I have hit the nail on the head. A very large number are just encouraging me to keep up the good work, forming an unofficial supporters’ club. This steady stream has grown considerably as I have got into my stride with Operation Phoenix and it has now assumed the proportion of a continuous debate inside the human resources profession. All the contributions to this debate arise from the present turmoil in the field of training. Some of them represent the questioning going on in people's minds all over the world. All represent opinions and are the more interesting for that. It is useful to know how other practitioners are reacting to current events and ideas and so I have decided to publish some of this insiders' debate under the title of FORUM. Editor