President Barack Obama visited the campus of Los Angeles Trade Technical College to talk about the economy and other subjects during a campaign swing through Southern California.

Striking a theme of “economic patriotism,” President Barack Obama issued a clarion call on Thursday for stepped-up retraining of those unemployed during the Great Recession so that they can fill the skilled jobs that are becoming available today.

The president, in a speech in front of more than 1,500 people at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College in downtown Los Angeles, said that about 10 million jobs have been created since the recession decimated the economy in the middle of the last decade and the unemployment is now at its lowest level since September 2008.

“What we should be doing is training more people for the kinds of jobs that are opening up. And I encourage people to go back to school,” Obama said to a round of applause.

“The decisions we made to rescue the economy and the auto industry have paid off.”

Before arriving at the school the president make an unexpected stop at Cantor’s Deli for a quick lunch and chatted with customers.

The crowd began gathering shortly after 11 a.m. under a hot sun, with many seeking shade under trees. Paramedics were soon at the scene to treat people who had trouble coping with the heat.

As the president was about to step to the podium, a section of supporters began chanting a chorus of “four more years.”

A heckler briefly interrupted the president at the start of his remarks but was drowned out by the pro-president crowd, which began chanting “Obama, Obama Obama.”

A protest also broke out along Washington Boulevard about a block from the school, prompting heavy police response. The demonstration broke up after the president left.

During his approximately 30-minute speech Obama touched on the familiar theme of the Affordable Health Care Act and how tough it is to deal with Congress on some matters and steps his administration is taking to help American workers.

 

The president noted that this week he signed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, bipartisan legislation that will improve economic opportunities for the middle class.

The president stressed his belief that this county is built from the bottom up, not the top down, and the middle class is a critical component of the economy.

Legislation like the Workforce Innovation Act is a step in the right direction, the president said.

“It helps people to a solid way to the middle class,” Obama said. “That something we can do together. We can do that across the United States as one nation and one team.”

 

The president also expressed displeasure with U.S. companies that use overseas operations to take advantage of tax breaks, noting that the lost revenue could be put to good use at home.

And the U.S. is regaining some of its economic luster.

“For the first time in more than a decade the best place to invest is the United States of America. So there’s a reason to be optimistic about America,” the president said.

His message resonated with Michael Dunn, 65, of Inglewood, who listened to the speech while sitting in the shade that dappled a few sections of the community college’s plaza. Dunn, a former property manager, has been jobless since 2008.

 

Now he is a freshman at Trade Tech, studying refrigeration and air conditioning. He’ll finish his course work next year.

He gives the president high marks.

“I’m inspired. It was a great speech. I’m grateful,” he said shortly after the president concluded his remarks. “I appreciate all of the work and the energy he put into making this country great again. And he’s right. You can’t build this country from the top down.”

Dunn is taking advantage of a veteran retraining program implemented by the Obama administration and it covers his tuition, Dunn said.

He is anxious to re-enter the job market once he gets that two-year degree.

“This industry is ready to explode,” he said.

It was definitely a pro-Obama crowd filled with many Trade-Tech students and instructors.

And it was a homecoming of sorts. The president visited the campus in a gritty area of the city in 2008 while seeking his first term.

“He gave us hope,” said Laurence B. Frank, the school’s president. “He gave us his word that day that he would be back if he became president and today he is back.”

Pasadena resident Hyesha Randall, an instructor at the school for 13 years, was there for that first visit and said that this one was just as inspirational.

“Oh yes, he kept his promise and we’re happy about that,” she said. “It’s a wonderful day. And we’re happy that so many students are inspired about this opportunity.”