Return to Transcripts main page
Live From...
Unemployed Workers Retrain, Hoping for Better
Aired February 19, 2004 - 14:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, ANCHOR: In about half an hour, the president speaks out in Washington about the economy. Faced with long-term employment, some workers hope that new skills will put them back to work.
CNN financial correspondent Casey Wian has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dave Kintner spent 30 years as a telecommunications engineer, was laid off two years ago and sent out hundreds of resumes.
DAVE KINTNER, LAID-OFF TELECOM WORKER: After a couple of months of doing this, well, I've got to start something else. I've got to do, got to redo some retraining.
WIAN: In his 50s, Kintner thought college would take too long. So he retrained himself in construction, first working at a home supply center, then for a contractor. He's on his own in an industry, struggling in an industry dominated by cheap, illegal alien labor.
KINTNER: You can't go from making $35-40 an hour down to $10 an hour and still maintain your lifestyle.
WIAN: President Bush proposes spending $300 million for community college job retraining and personal reemployment accounts. Already, the Labor Department spends $6 billion a year on a dozen retraining programs, which some say isn't enough.
ANOY VAN KLEUNEN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WORKFORCE ALLIANCE: We have two million long-term unemployed Americans out of work who are likely going to need new skills to get back into the job market.
We are currently funding federal programs that, at best, might be retraining a tenth of those workers every year.
WIAN: But more federal spending may not be the answer.
(on camera) In 1996, the General Accounting Office studied the federal Job Training Partnership Act. It found no significant impact on long-term employment rates or wages. It's been replaced with another program.
BILL CONERLY, NATIONAL CENTER FOR POLICY ANALYSIS: The evidence overwhelmingly says our efforts to create skills that help people get better jobs have not worked. It's been more or less money down a rat hole.
WIAN: Retraining works best when it goes beyond basic skills and prepares workers for specific jobs. Westwood College identifies hot job markets and offers training to match.
JOHN HANSON, WESTWOOD COLLEGE: On average, 80 percent to 85 percent of our graduates are employed within their field of expertise within the first 90 days after graduation.
WIAN: John Osgood was laid off from his management job at a trucking company. Now he's learning computer design.
JOHN OSGOOD, STUDENT: I think it's going to open up a lot more possibilities.
WIAN: Some of those include computer game design, health care and criminal justice.
Casey Wian, CNN, Los Angeles.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 19, 2004 - 14:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, ANCHOR: In about half an hour, the president speaks out in Washington about the economy. Faced with long-term employment, some workers hope that new skills will put them back to work.
CNN financial correspondent Casey Wian has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dave Kintner spent 30 years as a telecommunications engineer, was laid off two years ago and sent out hundreds of resumes.
DAVE KINTNER, LAID-OFF TELECOM WORKER: After a couple of months of doing this, well, I've got to start something else. I've got to do, got to redo some retraining.
WIAN: In his 50s, Kintner thought college would take too long. So he retrained himself in construction, first working at a home supply center, then for a contractor. He's on his own in an industry, struggling in an industry dominated by cheap, illegal alien labor.
KINTNER: You can't go from making $35-40 an hour down to $10 an hour and still maintain your lifestyle.
WIAN: President Bush proposes spending $300 million for community college job retraining and personal reemployment accounts. Already, the Labor Department spends $6 billion a year on a dozen retraining programs, which some say isn't enough.
ANOY VAN KLEUNEN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WORKFORCE ALLIANCE: We have two million long-term unemployed Americans out of work who are likely going to need new skills to get back into the job market.
We are currently funding federal programs that, at best, might be retraining a tenth of those workers every year.
WIAN: But more federal spending may not be the answer.
(on camera) In 1996, the General Accounting Office studied the federal Job Training Partnership Act. It found no significant impact on long-term employment rates or wages. It's been replaced with another program.
BILL CONERLY, NATIONAL CENTER FOR POLICY ANALYSIS: The evidence overwhelmingly says our efforts to create skills that help people get better jobs have not worked. It's been more or less money down a rat hole.
WIAN: Retraining works best when it goes beyond basic skills and prepares workers for specific jobs. Westwood College identifies hot job markets and offers training to match.
JOHN HANSON, WESTWOOD COLLEGE: On average, 80 percent to 85 percent of our graduates are employed within their field of expertise within the first 90 days after graduation.
WIAN: John Osgood was laid off from his management job at a trucking company. Now he's learning computer design.
JOHN OSGOOD, STUDENT: I think it's going to open up a lot more possibilities.
WIAN: Some of those include computer game design, health care and criminal justice.
Casey Wian, CNN, Los Angeles.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
