Pacific Bell put a training program on hold.

The company’s 4-year-old “leadership development program,” also known as the Krone program, was suspended pending an assessment of its effectiveness after the public staff of the state Public Utilities Commission recommended that Pacific Bell--and not its customers--pay $25 million of this year’s anticipated $40-million cost. Although the PUC has taken no action on the recommendation, President Stanley W. Hulett welcomed the assessment decision. A Pacific Bell spokesman said the program was devised to help employees move from “a traditional ‘by-the-book’ culture” to one more oriented toward a competitive business environment.