Obama Vows to Restructure Worker-Training System

Washington — President Obama promised today to help the unemployed, including the 539,000 who lost their jobs last month, by making it easier for them to receive federal aid for worker-training programs and community-college classes.

“If we want to help people not only get back on their feet today, but prosper tomorrow, we need to take a rigorous new approach to higher education and technical training,” he said in a speech here this morning. “That starts by changing senseless rules that discourage displaced workers from getting the education and training they need to find and fill the jobs of the future.” The speech further emphasized the importance of an educated work force after Mr. Obama previously called on all Americans to attend at least one year of college or career training.

“The idea here is to fundamentally change our approach to unemployment in this country, so that it’s no longer just a time to look for a new job, but to prepare yourself for a better job,” Mr. Obama continued, saying that the Labor and Education Departments would work together to give laid-off workers access to unemployment benefits and Pell Grants simultaneously so they can get training while still supporting their families.

Some states allow the unemployed to receive both, but Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis will need to encourage the rest to change their policies. Mr. Obama also put the two in charge of helping workers learn about the new benefits he intends to lay out over the next few weeks.

The president is likely to get quite a bit of help in publicizing his coming proposal. Martha Kanter, second in command at the Education Department, is a former community-college administrator, and Jill Biden, wife of the vice president, is a longtime community-college professor, whom Mr. Obama has asked to help raise awareness of the government’s efforts to increase access to worker training. —Megan Eckstein