"Race to GED" -Virginia's NASCAR marketed Worker training

Okay make your little jokes if you want but increasing the earning power of your workforce has an immediate effect on the economy and govt. budgets. I believe this includes vocational training too.

http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031771433308

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Gov. Mark R. Warner said Tuesday that he has enlisted the help of NASCAR and the state's auto racing industry to double the number of Virginians earning a high school equivalency degree.

"The economic benefits of getting a GED or diploma are indisputable: A Virginia worker with a GED or high school degree makes more than double the income of a worker without one," Warner said.

More than 700,000 (out of ~7 million population) working-age Virginians do not have a GED or a high school diploma, according to the governor's office. Those Virginians earn an average of about $10,000 annually; those with a diploma or GED earn about $22,000.

He added that "Fast Track GED" programs will be established in at least five regions next year to allow Virginians to earn an equivalency certificate in three to four months.