In yesterday’s New York Times, Louis Uchitelle told the story of United Airlines’ Indianapolis maintenance center.

It was hugely productive and brought in revenue from other airlines outsourcing their own maintenance work. Labor relations deterioriated and so did productivity. The airline gave in to union demands for wages, but those wages meant that maintenance costs were far above competitive alternatives. So the airline outsourced work and layed off workers.

But the point of the piece is an interesting insight into job training programs. Very few of them actually funnel people into work, and it’s often the case that what unemployed workers lack isn’t training.

An interesting read.