retraining program

retraining program, occupational training program designed to aid workers in obtaining new employment. Formal retraining programs were first developed in Europe around the end of World War II as part of the effort to return military personnel to civilian life, to reduce unemployment, and to fill the shortages in certain occupations that had developed during the war. Later, with the attainment of full employment, retraining programs were used as a means of rectifying critical labour shortages in specific occupations. They have also been put forward as at least a partial solution to the problem of structural unemployment in declining industries or industries severely affected by competition from imports.

Retraining programs, which are perhaps most fully developed in western Europe, may include monetary allowances during training, relocation expenses, and family allowances. In several countries, refusal to participate in a retraining program disqualifies a worker from eligibility for unemployment compensation benefits. In the United States the Area Redevelopment Act of 1961 and the Manpower Development and Training Act of 1962 established worker retraining as part of the nation’s effort to alleviate poverty.

Two schools of thought have developed regarding the cost-effectiveness of publicly sponsored retraining programs. Critics argue that, when the economy is depressed, tax dollars are wasted on retraining workers for nonexistent jobs. In addition, many of the new jobs created by technological developments are beyond the scope of most labourers’ skills; for example, it is usually futile to try to retrain a laid-off drill press operator to become a computer programmer. In this view, the responsibility for retraining should rest with employers, and the critics point to several employer-sponsored programs that have been quite successful. A number of large corporations have been able to shift employees to new jobs after careful occupational retraining. However, this task is considerably more difficult for smaller companies that lack the variety of occupations found in their larger counterparts.

Proponents of publicly sponsored retraining programs argue that the policy is cost-efficient for two reasons. First, by retraining workers for reemployment, the overall burden of welfare support is reduced. Second, the tax revenue generated from increased employment more than offsets the cost of retraining.

There are no substantive statistics that irrefutably support either set of arguments. However, while the two sides differ on where the responsibility for retraining should lie, they agree that the policy of worker retraining should be maintained.