In September 2009, California's underemployment rate hit a staggering 21.9%, and across the country there are over 5.4 million people who have been out of work for over 27 consecutive weeks.  

This comes on the heels of reports from many economic pundits that the United States economy has see the worst of the hits from the current recession and economic crisis.  Though we are seeing slow recovery in the housing, credit and banking industries - the majority of the recovery efforts have not made an impact on unemployment - and economists are now forecasting that there may be limited job-recovery throughout.  The most troubling reports are that rate of structural unemployment will continue to grow, despite the moderate economic recovery we are now experiencing.

If you don't know what structural unemployment is, here is the simple explanation: Structural Unemployment is when there is a mismatch of sufficiently skilled workers looking for jobs and job vacancies available in other industries.

Says Jon Bischke, CEO & Founder, eduFire:

“Structural unemployment is often overlooked but truly the biggest threat to the future of our economy. People who lost jobs in dying industries are willing and ready to get back into the workforce. Unfortunately, many don’t have the skills required to get a new job and are stuck. Without some outlet where they can learn the web-based skills that will let them build a new career, they will be not only unemployed but unemployable."

In the period between September 2007 and August 2009 over seven million jobs have disappeared in the United States due to specific industries becoming redundant in the current economic structure.  Automotive industry and general labor industries are cited as those being most affected by structural unemployment job loss.  However, impact of the current financial crisis has been far reaching, and other industries are beginning to feel critical losses in this area.

So what can you do if you suddenly find yourself in the position of being "unemployable" because the skilled labor industry you've spent your entire professional life working in has disappeared?

Retraining and education are essential in this situation.  Though, few people are financially in the position to afford a return to school to train in a new industry.  It's a Catch 22 - and, it has been a conundrum as to how to throw a stick into spoke to stop this cycle and help people become employable again.

Technology is one of the only areas that has shown a consistant growth in job creation.  However, it is one of the areas of labor which requires the most skill specific training.  Coding and learning to utilize technology in a meaningful way is essential to employment in this industry.  Training via traditional routes can be time consuming and costly.  Very few people have the time, money or ability via location to return to school to learn C++ or HTML or CSS or Ruby on Rails or any of the other tools which prove to be assets in gaining employment in the tech and IT industries.

So again... what to do?

Companies are beginning to address this educational issue: On 16 November eduFire (an online platform that offers live, interactive classes via video and webinar) launched a Tech Channel that is targeted at offering affordable, convenient class opportunities for those who are looking to re-educate themselves in a new industry. 

While there are many free classes available on the channel, for a low subscription rate of $29/month (way less than the average cost of even one class at a local university) you can access every class offered on eduFire with a SUPERPASS.

The channel is targeted at two specific groups of consumers: Those in dying industries and those in career transition.  Classes are focused on providing education that leads directly to employment and are determined by the current market need.

"We hope the Tech Channel will provide a stepping stone to end structural unemployment,” said eduFire CEO John Bischke of Monday's release.

Conversely, eduFire also offers experts and teachers the opportunity to be paid decently and given the respect they deserve in an open-marketplace structure. Teachers can register classes and receive compensation in an high percentage splitting with eduFire based on student registration. (Meaning: if you teach a very popular class that is heavily attended you're going to get some good bucks out of it!)  

85% of tuition goes to the teacher of the course, with only 15% going to eduFire.  This is unprecedented in a world where teachers are one of the most over-worked and undervalued work forces out there (says the daughter of two academics).

With this release it's clear that eduFire is taking the initiative to become the industry leader in this arena.  Check them out at eduFire's website to see for yourself!

You can read more thoughts on structural unemployment and the expanding technology industry from Kate on her website and blog.