Monday, October 26, 2009

Report: Michigan workers who finished retraining get, keep jobs


Report: Michigan workers who finished retraining get, keep jobs
"Most of those who completed job retraining during the first 18 months of Michigan’s No Worker Left Behind program either kept their jobs or gained new employment, according to a state review.

Of the nearly 34,360 people who finished training between August 2007 and February 2009, about 24,700, or 72%, either retained work or got a new job, while about 9,660, or 28%, were still looking for a job, according to the report being released Monday. It found more than 16,840 kept their jobs and about 7,860 found new employment.

No Worker Left Behind offers up to $10,000 over two years to workers who attend community colleges or other training programs. It’s overseen by the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth, which compiled the review."

A few questions from a Michigan citizen and taxpayer:

1. This has been pretty big news today on local radio, NPR, newspapers and media web sites.
But the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth hasn't made the full report public.

I just spent an hour searching their site and the web.
Shouldn't they be SO proud that they'd publish all the magic economic wizardry that confirms the brilliance of the "No Worker Left Behind" program?

And the original report is "disappeared" as far as us citizens/taxpayers are concerned.

Why?

2. The "report" tells us that more than 16,840 graduates (out of more than 102,000 who got the money and "training") from this state funded program "kept their jobs".

Was there any control group to compare non-grads keeping their jobs?

What jobs did they "keep"?

3. 7860 nice workers were able to enter the workforce. How nice!

But that is less than 8% success in job creation (even if we don't know what jobs were created).

Is 8% the success rate we should expect from the Democrats and Jennifer Granholm?


4. What is the cost of providing this nifty $10,000/per worker edu-plunder and the state employees who administer it?


5. If this program is SO successful, wouldn't our Dear Leaders in Lansing put up bill boards (just like the cool highway billboards) touting their successes? With a nifty web-link for proof?


6. Are today's "journalists" so dull and uninterested in asking tough (any!) questions that they simply repeat every state generated synopsis and go home?

7. Does ANYONE really believe this garbage?


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