Roundtable calls for change in worker training

BOSTON (Reuters) - A trade group representing the largest U.S. companies called on Thursday for the federal government to change its policies on retraining workers who lose their jobs due to foreign competition.

The Business Roundtable called on Congress to develop a plan to help people learn new skills before, not after, they lose their jobs. It said the current $5 billion of federal spending on worker retraining had failed to soothe the nerves of working Americans about the changing economy,

The "America 21" program calls for the creation of individual funds with tax benefits that would allow U.S. workers to save for continuing career-related education. It would also be available to all workers, not only those whose jobs had moved out of the country.

"The way this would work, it would be like a 401(k) or an (Individual Retirement Account)," John Castellani, the group's president, told Reuters, comparing the funds to the most common U.S. retirement savings programs.

The proposal comes at a time when many are worried about a possible U.S. recession -- government data on Thursday showed the biggest weekly jump in new joblessness claims since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The Federal Reserve has cut benchmark interest rates by a sharp 1.25 percentage points in the last two weeks, in a bid to keep the U.S. economy on a growth footing.

"Rapid changes in the employment landscape are triggering significant worker anxiety," William Green, CEO of technology services company Accenture Ltd (ACN.N), told reporters on a conference call. "Compounding these long-term fears are the very real concerns brought on by the recent economic uncertainty."

But officials at the Roundtable, whose 160 corporate members generate $4.5 trillion in annual revenue and employ 10 million people, said their proposal was an effort to make a long-term change in how the United States approaches worker training, rather than a fix to an immediate economic problem.

"American taxpayers currently spend billions of dollars on worker training and adjustment assistance, but this money must be better spent if the country is to maintain its leadership position in the global economy," Harold McGraw, chief executive of McGraw-Hill Cos Inc (MHP.N) and current chairman of the Business Roundtable, said in a statement.

To make it easier for workers to plan for changing careers, the program also calls for the establishment of local offices where workers can learn about job and training opportunities.

The group did not provide specifics of how the program would be implemented, saying that would be best worked out by a bipartisan congressional commission.

TREMORS ON TRADE

Public anxiety about the loss of jobs to foreign competitors has become a significant issue in Washington.

This week, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, said he would not begin action on three pending free-trade pacts until Congress and the Bush administration agree on steps to expand the current federal program to aid those who lose jobs due to international trade.

"We're concerned about, really, the demonization of international trade that is out there," Jim Owens, CEO of heavy-equipment maker Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N), told reporters.

"There is a real danger that the U.S. will turn out isolationist policies that we absolutely know won't work," Owens said. "The United States must address worker anxiety about potential job losses and prepare them to succeed in the global economy."

(Editing by John Wallace and Tim Dobbyn)