Melinda Williams

Thirty-one years after she graduated from high school, Angela Flynn is back in school as the only woman and the oldest student in her welding class at the Chattanooga State campus in Kimball, Tenn.

Mrs. Flynn, who turns 50 this month, admits she was apprehensive about getting back in the classroom. But when she got her layoff notice last year from Mig Wire and Tube in Lookout Valley, she realized she had to upgrade her skills to find a new job, she said.

"I hope once I complete this program next month, I'll have a leg up trying to get in the new Volkswagen plant," she said.

Mrs. Flynn is among nearly 22,000 Tennesseans and more than 11,000 Georgians who have lost their jobs in the past three years due to import competition at nearly 300 plants and businesses in the two states, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

In response, the federal government in pumping an extra $12.1 million into Tennessee and another $11.7 million in Georgia to fund the biggest programs ever to help displaced workers.

The extra federal money announced Tuesday through the Trade Adjustment Assistance program will pay for more training such as what Mrs. Flynn is receiving. It also will fund extended jobless and health care benefits for those whose jobs are lost because of imports.

The extra money is not related to the federal stimulus program but reflects both the growing need for employment services and Tennessee's past success with retraining workers, according to Melinda Williams, administrator of marketing and outreach programs for the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

"Unfortunately, we've had a lot of businesses hurt by foreign competition in our state, and the new law has allowed us to expand Trade Adjustment Assistance beyond manufacturing into service-related industries like call centers," Ms. Williams said. "Automotive suppliers and furniture makers have been hit especially hard."

The Trade Adjustment Assistance program was expanded in May under a new trade law adopted by Congress. Ms. Williams said petitions have been filed to help another 8,000 who have lost jobs or wages due to foreign imports at another 80 Tennessee employers.

Hurt by foreign trade and competition, Tennessee and Georgia each have had above-average job losses in recent years. Tennessee's employment in manufacturing has declined by more than 39,000 jobs, while Georgia has lost 54,600 manufacturing jobs since September 2008, state figures show.

"China has emerged as a huge competitor to many of our businesses, and it has gotten even worse during the recession," said Dr. Steve Livingston, a political science professor who edits the Global Commerce publication from Middle Tennessee State University.

Tennessee Labor Commissioner Jim Neeley said the extra money will bring the state's total budget for Trade Adjustment Assistance to more than $28 million for the current year. It also "will help level the playing field for those workers affected by increased imports or a shift in production to a foreign country," he said.

Workers can get up to 156 weeks of jobless and health care benefits and have some or all of their tuition paid while they are retrained at technical schools or community colleges.

The program also provides money to help relocate workers who must move elsewhere to find new jobs, Ms. Williams said.

In the past year, more than 1,500 Tennesseans have participated in Trade Adjustment Assistance job training, and 88 percent of those have completed the program, she said.

"We think the program is really working in helping displaced workers to get the training they need to move into high-demand occupations," Ms. Williams said.