Here is Fact No. 5, the Friday edition, for the Workforce Week of Action:

Throughout this series, we have said again and again that federal training and education is woefully inadequate. On this last day of WWoA, let me present the facts to back up that claim. And as you read this information from WWoA sponsor, the National Skills Coalition, bear in mind that the data presented here do NOT include the most recent severe cuts made by Congress in workforce development funding.

"Between 2002 and 2008, funding for education and training programs under the Department of Labor had been cut by almost 30 percent, and workforce funding at Department of Education has not even kept up with inflation. The U.S. spends only .04 percent of its Gross Domestic Product on job training, ranking 21st out of 25 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development internationally and far behind countries like Great Britain, Germany, France, and Canada."

America cannot continue underfunding training and expect to remain the economic leader of the world. It's as simple as that.

And if you are having trouble getting your head around the numbers, think about this: all the trainers' jobs that have been eliminated because of these cuts.

Please contact me at governmentaffairs@astdps.org if you want to know more about what you can do to make a difference in improving funding for training.