What about jobs for professional people whose jobs have gone elsewhere? Any demand for computer programmers out there – especially for some that can telecommute 100% of the time?

"In fact, the largest portion of jobs in our labor market (nearly half) require some kind of technical training beyond a high school diploma, and these “middle-skill” jobs are experiencing the greatest shortages of skilled workers"

There in lies the problem. I work for the Labor Dept and I cannot tell you how many unskilled/under educated peopled come into the office trying to find work. They days of the carpet mills hiring just anyone are over. I try to steer them to one of the local community colleges one of which is a technical college to get their GED and more training. The response is often something like" I need a job to pay the bills before I can go to school." I honestly do not know what to do to help them. It is very frustrating.

The great aspect of training or retraining in the healthcare field is that there is no age discrimination and one can make a "living" wage.

I think it's wonderful that these programs exist to help lift families out of poverty, but what about us "middle incomers"?

I have been out of the workforce for about 7 years, raising a family. Now it's time for me to return to work but first I need to revamp my skills. I can't afford to return to school and don't qualify for retraining/training programs due to family income levels. How in the world do I become employable to the extent that I have something left over after I pay for child care? That's, of course, if I can even find good qualified child care available in my area. If these two problems can be solved, then the rest of us will be overwhelmed with joy.

It is sad that so many have spent so much money to go to college for a "marketing or business admin" degree and come out with no real skills. Schools need to encourage kids to go to get a real trade i.e. engineering, plumbing carpentry, allied health etc. What is going to happen to the future of these industries if there are no new people to work the industry as baby boomers retire?