Training Benefit For Those Whole Lost Their Job

Many of you who have lost your job during this recession qualify for TAA benefits.
For the Dept of Labor:

Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) and Alternative Trade Adjustment
Assistance (ATAA) help trade-affected workers who have lost their jobs as a
result of increased imports or shifts in production out of the United
States.

Here are some of the benefits:

Reemployment Services - offer workers assistance in finding a new job. Many TAA-eligible workers will be able to return to employment through a combination of these services. For individuals who require retraining, these services will help identify appropriate training programs, and help them obtain reemployment at the conclusion of the training program. To ensure workers are referred to appropriate job openings and placed in jobs that utilize their highest skills, the following services are generally provided through One-Stop Career Centers:
Employment counseling
Resume writing and Interview skills workshops
Career assessment
Job development
Job search programs
Job referrals

Job Search Allowances - may be payable to cover expenses incurred in seeking employment outside a certified worker's normal commuting area, if a suitable job is not available in the area. Job search allowances reimburse 90% of the total costs of allowable travel and subsistence, up to a total of $1,250.

Relocation Allowances - may reimburse approved expenses when certified workers must move to a new area of employment outside their normal commuting area.
Relocation allowances may include:
90% of the reasonable and necessary expenses of moving workers who have secured employment outside of their normal commuting area, their families and their household goods. The amount will be reduced if the worker is entitled to reimbursement from other sources.
A lump sum payment equal to three times the worker's average weekly wage (but no more than $1,250) to help them get settled.

Training - is provided to certified workers who do not have the skills to secure suitable employment in the existing labor market. Training is targeted to a specific occupation and provided to help certified workers secure employment at a skill level similar to or higher than their layoff employment, and sustain that employment at the best wage available. Based on the individual's existing skills and labor market conditions, training will be of the shortest duration necessary to return the individual to employment, with a maximum duration of 104 weeks.

Income Support - Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA) - are available to provide income support to individuals while they are participating in full time training.

Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC) - Workers who are eligible to receive income support under the TAA program may be eligible to receive tax credits for 65% of the monthly health insurance premium they pay.

Because this is a Federal program there is A LOT more detail on the website about who qualifies and what the benefits are. You should check with your own state's applicable office. Google it.

An article from the Wall Street Journal highlights some of the aspects of TAA:

When workers at a wholesale unit of Saunders Brothers lost their jobs in recent months, they qualified for Maine's standard state unemployment benefits of up to 26 weeks. Those laid off from a different Saunders plant qualified for a richer package -- two years of unemployment checks, health-care subsidies, free college and other perks.