By MICHAEL LUO, CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. - For the second time in three years, Mike Hutchins, a laid-off automotive engineer, is preparing to enroll in job retraining at a local community college, this time to become a civil engineering technician. But he has no idea if he has chosen the right path.

"I'm fumbling around in the dark," said Mr. Hutchins, 58.

The industry where Mr. Hutchins worked for 25 years has shriveled. The courses in computer-aided design that he finished last year in his initial effort at retraining failed to lead to employment. "I'm looking for a job that will give me some type of a future," he said.

Tens of thousands of laid-off workers like Mr. Hutchins have turned to retraining as a lifeline. Yet for all the popularity of these government-financed programs, there are questions about whether they actually work, even as President Obama's stimulus plan directs $1.4 billion more to retraining and other services for people who have lost their jobs.

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