|
From Economic Policy Institute:
Most policy makers agree that workforce training is essential to America's competitiveness. Yet federal spending on workforce education and training has dropped from $63 per worker in 1986 to only $35 per worker in 2006, in per capita terms.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is the primary source of federal support for job training and employment services.
Thus, over a period when the economy grew by almost 80% and real spending by the federal government rose 62%, spending on a service that is supposedly highly valued fell by 15%.
Finally, the diminishing commitment of the government to training and employment services for America's workforce can be seen in the steep decline in DOL spending as a share of total federal government domestic discretionary spending.
The focus on 'rapid reemployment'---getting workers into jobs without regard to the skill level or quality of the job---is one culprit in this failure to put our government's money where its mouth is.
Meaningful training that leads to improved skills and higher pay costs money.
But national policy makers' growing unwillingness to invest in the education or skills of average Americans is the heart of the problem.
Read more from this post.
Posted on December 6, 2006 05:40 PM
|
