I saw a TV spot today from this organization claiming a big conspiracy against American workers by evil corporate America to off-shore jobs or importation of foreigners for those jobs. What a load of crap. (Watch the sad little spot on their site... How are they gonna make that house payment? Maybe by selling that $40,000 car!)
First off, the Department of Labor Statistics shows that unemployment has been on the decline for four years. For that matter, it's still much better than it has been for most of the last three decades.
This kind of noise is caused mostly by tech workers. The problem is that in the post-bubble era that everyone wants that dotcom paycheck, but they can't do the work. Programmers are the most guilty of this.
I realize that it varies from one market to the next, but at least here in Northeast Ohio (Cleveland and Akron), there is no shortage of work. I get calls from recruiters constantly, even though I tell them I'm engaged in a gig I intend to keep for the time being.
Being on the other side of it, I interviewed a great many people in my last contract gig, and was amazed at how inept nearly all of the candidates were. Maybe it's because of that consulting environment, where people don't have the long-term mentoring and training opportunities. I don't really know. But they want big dollars and can't code their way out of a cardboard box.
And this is where you enter the foreigners. The average Indian or Asian worker on a visa here is eager and willing to learn. Frankly you need these people because there aren't enough qualified Americans to fill those jobs.
When I look at that refuting evidence, it reminds me of the immigration "debate" and makes me feel that this is just people directing their hate toward non-Americans. That's about the last thing we need. It's not constructive. Welcome to the global economy. We're not the only kids in the sandbox. The sooner we learn that and start competing, instead of implementing this protectionist bullshit, the sooner we'll be in better shape.
But you are young and current. There are a lot of guys in Gordon's position, at least here in Michigan, who are "over-qualified, not current enough, not techie enough" or given those excuses because they are too old.
Gordon's biggest problem is he isn't specialized in anything.
But I think what you're describing is a re-training issue. My uncle went through the same thing, and still fights it to a certain degree (although, his Achilles heal is the lack of a college degree more than anything else). He's been able to stay in technology, but only because he's excels at managing people. His tech skill set would otherwise not be useful in the available jobs. His biggest solution was simply moving to Florida of all places, where Orlando is a hot market for tech. From what you describe, I get the impression that Gordon would thrive anywhere but Michigan, though I understand it's not that simple that you can just pick up and move.