In the olden days, ASTD's annual State of the Industry report included training investment by role -- what % of an organization's training investment was directed to executives, technical workers, production workers, etc. The latest SOIRs and WLPs no longer provide this data, and I've not been able to find a substitute resource. Any leads for this data are appreciated.

This is just speculation, but I'm thinking that if it's not available any longer and you cannot find a substitute source for the information, it may be that it's not particularly good data on which to benchmark.

I would venture a guess that these percentages are pretty much the same as before. Not much changes there - technical workers and production workers have always been grossly and unfairly neglected by companies and also by organizations such as ASTD and ISPI. Executives get by far the majority of attention, especially by the training industry folks because they have the money to throw at conferences, publications, etc., etc. Also there is a perception in many companies that that's where the training effort should be focused. It's a funny thing - production workers are the ones who do the real work, yet the training industry ignores them - why? But that's another topic entirely.

Case in point. Who receives training should be a factor of where the skill and knowledge gaps are, not what position one is in.

Agree in theory, but don't think that answers the percentages question - or who should get the most training. There are most likely skill and knowledge gaps across the board - in every position/group. The critical factor here is that all knowledge and skill gaps are NOT EQUAL. Some knowledge and skill gaps are more important than others - and THAT should be the deciding factor when it comes time to determine who gets the training. It does not matter one whit what kind of training the executives get if the "bread and butter" people can't produce a good product. Likewise, a company can produce an excellent product and thrive for years and years whether or not the executives are competent. The best thing most executives and managers can do is to stay the heck out of the way - and let those that produce, produce. Throw all the money at those folks.