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Money for job retraining in short supply in state

By Shirleen Holt
Seattle Times business reporter

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Jobless workers hoping to get retraining grants are hearing a familiar refrain these days: Out of money. Come back later.

A drastic drop in federal funding combined with high demand has largely drained one free-tuition source, the dislocated-worker program, which helps unemployed people retrain for jobs in demand.

Program managers throughout Pierce, King and Snohomish counties say they've already used up their allocation for the 2003-2004 program year, or they're setting aside what money they have left for people already enrolled in schools.

Although the program year began just four months ago, newcomers will likely have to wait until the next cycle begins in July to receive any financial help, unless the job market rebounds and people drop out of training.

"Any money we have left is being committed to anybody who's in the system," said Rin Causey, who runs the Snohomish County Workforce Development Council, one of several agencies throughout the state that distributes job-training aid. "So our challenge is to find some other funds. At this point I don't have any identified."

Job-training programs Dislocated Worker Program Federal assistance through the Workforce Investment Act. For people whose jobs or skills become obsolete because of technology advancements, foreign competition and other reasons. 2002-2003 tuition grants: None available in King, Pierce, Snohomish counties. Scarce in other parts of the state. Provides up to $6,000 for retraining. Trade Adjustment Assistance Program (TAA/NAFTA) Federal entitlement for workers whose hours, wages or jobs are cut because of foreign competition. 2002-2003 tuition grants: Available and ongoing. Eligible workers get up to 104 weeks of schooling and may receive cash allowances after their unemployment benefits end. Many laid-off Boeing workers are getting this help. Worker Retraining Program State money for community and vocational schools to retrain workers from declining industries. Seventy percent of it goes to school for instructors and equipment. The rest — $8.5 million this year — is for financial aid. 2002-2003 tuition grants: Financial aid is decided by each school. Typical grant is $850.

This doesn't mean all job-training money has dried up. Laid-off workers eligible for federal Trade Act assistance should still be covered. There also are pockets of grant funding available through the dislocated-worker program in outlying areas.

But grant money, which averages $2,000 to $3,000 per student, is going quickly even in the less-populated counties.

"We are not out, but we are against the wall," said Mike Kennedy, who runs the Pacific Mountain Workforce Development Council, which includes Thurston County. "Can we meet the demand? Absolutely not."

One reason for the crunch is that the state's share of federal funding has gone from feast to relative famine.

Because of its high number of jobless workers in 2001, Washington received a whopping $68.5 million in dislocated-worker money last year — the third-largest allocation in the nation after California and Illinois.

When the allotment was recalculated for this year, other states' unemployment problems had caught up, and Washington slid to No. 9 on the needy list, with a grant of $39.4 million, a 42 percent drop.

Because the state basically is required to use the money or lose it, little of that cash can be carried forward for years when Washington's share might not be so generous.

"It's a volatile formula," said Dave Petersen, whose Wenatchee-based work-force council already has obligated its 2003-2004 pot of worker-retraining money. "Your slice can double, then fall off a cliff the next year."

The dislocated-worker program is funded through the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998, designed in part to help employees suffering from layoffs brought on by economic shifts or foreign competition.

The program is serving about 8,000 jobless workers in the state, 3,635 of whom are getting tuition aid. A larger group of laid-off workers is getting retraining benefits through the federal Trade Adjustment Assistance Program (TAA/NAFTA).

Under that program, employees — about 6,000 in Washington — must have worked for a company adversely affected by foreign competition, a designation given by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Both programs are supposed to help workers move out of declining industries — aerospace and timber, for example — and into high-demand areas such as health care and, despite accounts of a sluggish technology industry, computer programming.

Enrollment figures at Washington's two-year colleges reflect the 2002 windfall of dislocated-worker money. Retraining enrollment jumped 59 percent this fall over last year.

"The vast majority of those we put in the pipeline haven't come out yet," said Kris Stadelman, who runs the Workforce Development Council of King County-Seattle. "The mouse is still only halfway through the snake."

Indeed, unlike years past when workers would find jobs before their training was complete, many enrollees are staying in school, learning skills for high-demand jobs and waiting for the hiring climate to improve.

Some hopefuls who were put on the waiting list last year are still on the waiting list, which now tops 200 in King County.

"They feel very angry," Stadelman acknowledged. "When you're talking to dislocated workers, they can get pretty desperate."

Shirleen Holt: 206-464-8316 or sholt@seattletimes.com

Shrinking training slice
There was less job-retraining money to go around this year, in part because of competition for federal dollars from other states.
	2002-'03	2003-'04	Percent
	(in millions)	(in millions)	decline
King County	$10.2	$8.5	-16
Pierce County	4.2	3.0	-29
Snohomish County	4.0	3.0	-24
Washington state	$68.5	$39.4	-42
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Washington state Employment Security Department

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