NY Times: After Job Training, Still Scrambling for Employment

[marmar]

The New Poor
After Job Training, Still Scrambling for Employment

By PETER S. GOODMAN
Published: July 18, 2010


In what was beginning to feel like a previous life, Israel Valle had earned $18 an hour as an executive assistant to a designer at a prominent fashion label. Now, he was jobless and struggling to find work. He decided to invest in upgrading his skills.

It was February 2009, and the city work force center in Downtown Brooklyn was jammed with hundreds of people hungry for paychecks. His caseworker urged him to take advantage of classes financed by the federal government, which had increased money for job training. Upgrade your skills, she counseled. Then she could arrange job interviews.

For six weeks, Mr. Valle, 49, absorbed instruction in spreadsheets and word processing. He tinkered with his résumé. But the interviews his caseworker eventually arranged were for low-wage jobs, and they were mobbed by desperate applicants. More than a year later, Mr. Valle remains among the record 6.8 million Americans who have been officially jobless for six months or longer. He recently applied for welfare benefits.

“Training was fruitless,” he said. “I’m not seeing the benefits. Training for what? No one’s hiring.”

Hundreds of thousands of Americans have enrolled in federally financed training programs in recent years, only to remain out of work. That has intensified skepticism about training as a cure for unemployment. .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/19/business/19training.html?_r=1&hp

[Skittles]

1. stop pimping jobs offshore

[TheDebbieDee]

2. People should really research the job market for the field

that they're planning to train for before they borrow the money to enroll at these "technical institutes". These institute staffers will promise you the world to get you to sign for that loan to pay for their training!

[scarletwoman]

3. People should really read the OP before they post.

His caseworker urged him to take advantage of classes financed by the federal government, which had increased money for job training. (my bold)

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

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[Raineyb]

4. NYS has a nasty habit of only approving schooling for technical schools or for certificate

programs. I had looked into it but I didn't think that it made sense to go for a certificate program when what I needed was a bloody degree which they wouldn't pay for anyway. I mean really training is all well and good but people are looking for some sort of degree and those programs will not give you one of those.

[SunnySong]

6. For six weeks, Mr. Valle, 49, absorbed instruction in spreadsheets and word processing.

First of all I would hope an executive assistant (even in the fashion industry) would already know word processing and spreadsheets... and even if he didn't how much experience is he really going to get in a six week course.

[Merlot]

7. The way he was complaining about FREE classes made it sound like

a larger investment of time than 6 weeks. And the six weeks probably weren't full time either. Would he rather have not had the training?

Truth is, he's 49 years old.

[SunnySong]

8. You would think at that age he would have word proccessing and spreadsheets down...

Then again I have worked with talentless idiots before whom seem confused by e-mail and copiers.


Of course he just might be to old to work in fashion... cause that is one industry that will discriminate at the drop of a hat... too fat too dark too old need not apply.