Wow! I never thought I would see it in my lifetime! Here is the sad fact, though, in our economy these days. The national unemployment rate spiked to over 10% in October 2009. Over 16 million workers are now without a job. The "underemployment rate", which includes part time workers who prefer a full time position and people who have just given up looking, ballooned to a record 17.5% of all eligible workforce in the United States. As a result, many people are choosing to build toolboxes of new skill sets and acquire first time or additional education in target high growth industries that have jobs to offer.

If you find yourself in this same situation, between a rock and a hard place, decide to visit some of the online resources that can give you information about free scholarships which you can apply for in order to pay for college programs and training courses in your target new profession.

The Obama administration is kicking in hundreds of millions of dollars to help. Grant money is trickling down to qualified organizations that will launch training projects that will prepare workers to enter and advance in the burgeoning health care sector and other high growth and emerging industries. These sectors have lots of jobs available for trained personnel.

Community colleges are at the center of the Obama administration goal for every American to have at least some college experience by the year 2020. Services available online allow prospective students to view information to learn more about schools offering online and campus courses, request more information about a particular program and search for student financial aid to help out with the college or training program expenses.

Earlier this year, President Obama spoke about allocating $12 billion over the next ten years to help community colleges matriculate and graduate an additional 5 million people. Congress responded last month by passing a student aid bill that included about $10 billion in programs targeted at community colleges. We want our readers to stay on top of this developing story to see if this bill survives the Senate and becomes law. The opportunities for a new job in a growing industry with financial assistance coming from the government in the form of grants, scholarships and even student loans is providing a bridge of hope for many who had given up on a job in this challenging economy we are enduring.