The following article was posted today (11/28/11) by Claire Gordon on www.jobs.aol.com ….What do you think about it? Are we setting people up to 
double dip or is this a genius plan to keep unemployed people accountable for their time off?
Many unemployed Americans would love to get new skills, but can’t afford to lose their unemployment benefits. Many employers want to hire new people, but can’t afford to spend months training a new employee. The New Jersey Assembly is set to reconsider a bill that would kill these two birds with one stone.
The proposal would allow employers who have a job vacancy to train individuals for up to 24 hours a week for six weeks without paying them, and with no obligation to hire, reports The Associated Press. The trainees could continue collecting unemployment benefits during this time, as well as up to a $100 per week stipend for transportation, child care and other job-related costs.
The plan was vetoed back in February by Gov. Chris Christie, because it came as part of legislation that had a combined estimated cost of $600 million. By itself, the job training bill has a much more modest projected cost to New Jersey taxpayers of $3 million per year.
The program is modeled off of a plan in Georgia, “Georgia Works,” which has existed since 2003 and garnered bipartisan support. President Obama spotlighted the plan in his September jobs speech and integrated the idea into his proposed jobs bill.
