After getting the promise of federal funds for job retraining Monday afternoon, Pennsylvania moved swiftly to reopen the program which has been on hold since March.

Pennsylvania received an emergency $21.2 million from the federal Department of Labor for the Trade Adjustment Assistance program. The program gives re-employment training to qualified workers laid off from manufacturers due to foreign competition.

There was no immediate word on when the funds would be forthcoming or exactly when the benefits would begin flowing again through the state.

Workers at Damascus-Bishop Tube Co., Reynolds, which closed at the end of 2002, and Wheatland Tube Co.'s mechanical tube plant in Wheatland, which closed in May, were among those affected by the state putting a hold on the TAA program.

"Training will reopen immediately and be coordinated by our Team Pennsylvania CareerLink offices as soon as the federal funding is received," Gov. Ed Rendell said.