Economist: Technology now changes so rapidly that workers need periodi

arg
=tec chgs fast and wrks need ret
=ret is only efic if it meets short-term needs
=thus, large ret progs are not viable for ret wrks

asum
ans (D) these prog do not meet shrot-term needs!

Argument: Technology changes rapidly, so workers need periodic retraining. But, since the technology changes rapidly the retraining will only be beneficial for short term goals.
Conclusion: Large governmental job retraining programs are no longer a viable option in the effort to retrain workers efficiently.

Large government jobs do not necessarily mean long term goals.

Option (D) Large governmental job retraining programs do not meet the short-term needs of different individual companies.
Argument assumes that large govt. jobs do not satisfy short term goals.
-
We can also validate the answer choice by Negation technique.

Negating the statement: Large governmental job retraining programs do not meet the short-term needs of different individual companies.
Since this destroys the conclusion it is the right assumption.

Option D is correct

I'll go with D.
This question was fairly easy bc:

Premise: Efficient -> Allows meet short term needs
---
conclusion: Large company -> ~Efficient.

If you play with these,
you get:

<Large company -> ~Allow meet short term needs> REQUIRED
~Allow meet short term needs -> ~Efficient (Contrapositive)
---
Large company -> ~Efficient

So you get D.

Yet I have a hard time eliminating B.
I mean I know it's an incorrect answer because... it just doesn't sound right?
I want to have a solid reason to eliminate B.

Let's do the negation test: Large job retraining programs won't be less efficient than smaller programs if the pace of tech. changes slow.

Conclusion :large governmental job retraining programs are no longer a viable option in the effort to retrain workers efficiently.

Premise :Technology now changes so rapidly that workers need periodic retraining
Retraining can be efficient only if it allows individual companies to meet their own short-term needs

Missing gap: Larger governmental job retraining programs doesnt allow the individual comp to meet short term needs

Option D: Large governmental job retraining programs do not meet the short-term needs of different individual companies -- Correct as it clearly bridges the gap.

This passage has a couple of links that we need to pay attention to.

Link #1: Rapid changes in technology <-----> need for periodic training.

Link #2: Efficiency (of periodic training) <----> short term needs

Link #3: Large (government programs) <----> not viable to achieve efficiency in retraining.

Let's take a look at the available answer choices:

(A) Workers did not need to be retrained when the pace of technological change was slower than it is currently. - (A) talks about the pace of technological change, a factor that does not help to draw the conclusion of this passage. Hence, eliminate (A).

(B) Large job retraining programs will be less efficient than smaller programs if the pace of technological change slows. -Talks about pace, which is irrelevant in drawing the conclusion. Hence, eliminate (B)

(C) No single type of retraining program is most efficient at retraining technological workers. - Way too extreme (and broad) in relation to the context of this passage. Hence, eliminate (C)

(D) Large governmental job retraining programs do not meet the short-term needs of different individual companies. - in order for the conclusion to be drawn, it has to be the case that the government training programs are not capable of meeting short term needs. Hence, (D) is the right answer.

(E) Technological workers are more likely now than in the past to move in order to find work for which they are already trained. - The passage does not mention anything about technological workers. Hence, eliminate (E).

Economist: Technology now changes so rapidly that workers need periodic retraining. Such retraining can be efficient only if it allows individual companies to meet their own short-term needs. Hence, large governmental job retraining programs are no longer a viable option in the effort to retrain workers efficiently.

Which one of the following is an assumption required by the economist’s argument?

(A) Workers did not need to be retrained when the pace of technological change was slower than it is currently. - WRONG. Not necessarily true. But, importantly, this doesn't affect the conclusion.

(B) Large job retraining programs will be less efficient than smaller programs if the pace of technological change slows. - WRONG. No such comparison is ascertainable from the passage neither this helps.

(C) No single type of retraining program is most efficient at retraining technological workers. - WRONG. Can't claim this one.

(D) Large governmental job retraining programs do not meet the short-term needs of different individual companies. - CORRECT. If they meet then passage breaks apart. Thus, the right answer.

(E) Technological workers are more likely now than in the past to move in order to find work for which they are already trained. - WRONG. Irrelevant.

Answer D.