Teaching the skills necessary to assist previously incarcerated individuals in securing employment
What you will learn
Learn how to create a google account and how to use all google platforms
Create resumes and cover letters to help find employment
Using communication platforms like zoom and preparing for interviews
Understand how to budget and organize finances
Why take this course?
Aimed towards former inmates, this course is the guide to learning and developing new skills essential for the workforce. This is a two week course with daily lectures and assignments. It offers step by step instruction in the most effective way for previously incarcerated persons to apply and receive jobs.
It will cover creating and utilizing google platforms, creating resumes and cover letters, using communication platforms and preparing for interviews, as well as how to show that time in prison serves as a benefit to employers. These skills will be taught in a way specialized towards those who served time in prison.The course will also feature other previously incarcerated people who obtained employment and are successful, so they can share their experiences and advice. Lastly, the course will provide links to organizations that hire previously incarcerated people and other resources that help those reentering society.
The goal of this course is to break the stigma surrounding previously incarcerated individuals being too inexperienced and dangerous to be productive employees. Joining the workforce is essential in reducing homelessness and recidivism. This course provides the necessary skills, training, guidance, and encouragement to provide previously incarcerated individuals a better chance at securing employment.
- Course Overview
- Strategic Reentry Framework: This comprehensive course serves as a bridge between life post-incarceration and a sustainable career path, offering a structured roadmap to navigate the modern labor market’s complexities.
- Barrier Mitigation and Advocacy: It focuses specifically on tactical ways to address legal hurdles and social stigmas, empowering participants to present their history through the lens of growth and personal accountability.
- Holistic Professional Identity: The program looks beyond basic job placement to help individuals rebuild their professional self-image, emphasizing the psychological transition from a carceral environment to a corporate or trade setting.
- Long-term Stability Planning: Participants are taught how to view employment not just as a paycheck, but as a foundational pillar for successful social reintegration and community contribution.
- Requirements / Prerequisites
- Personal Readiness Assessment: Applicants must demonstrate a proactive mindset and a genuine readiness to undergo a rigorous professional transformation and adhere to a structured schedule.
- Foundational Communication Skills: A basic ability to read, write, and communicate effectively is necessary for filling out employment forms and interacting with instructors and peers.
- Commitment to Attendance: High level of participation is required, as the course relies heavily on interactive workshops, mock scenarios, and group-based learning activities.
- Skills Covered / Tools Used
- Transparent Communication Techniques: Mastering the “Letter of Explanation” and the “Honesty Policy” during interviews, where participants learn exactly when and how to disclose their background professionally.
- Digital Literacy Suite: Intensive training on essential modern tools, including email management, online job portals, video conferencing software, and basic cloud-based document editing.
- Soft Skill Adaptation: Learning workplace-specific conflict resolution, time management in a non-regimental setting, and navigating the nuances of modern corporate hierarchies.
- Employment Portfolios: Developing a comprehensive professional kit including a tailored resume, a list of character references, and a personal narrative statement of rehabilitation.
- Benefits / Outcomes
- Financial Sovereignty: Graduates gain the tools to achieve long-term financial independence, significantly reducing reliance on public assistance or high-risk income streams.
- Enhanced Community Stability: Securing stable employment is a primary factor in reducing recidivism, thereby improving community safety and the participantβs overall quality of life.
- Professional Mentorship: Access to a network of second-chance employers and mentors who specialize in assisting justice-involved individuals through the hiring process.
- Restored Confidence: The course fosters a sense of agency and self-worth, reinforcing the idea that a past conviction does not define a personβs future professional potential.
- PROS
- Specialized Curriculum: Unlike general career services, this program specifically addresses the legal and social roadblocks unique to the justice-involved population.
- Vetted Employer Network: The course leverages existing relationships with “fair chance” companies, significantly speeding up the actual hiring process for graduates.
- Peer Support Systems: Participants benefit from a cohort model, learning alongside others who share similar life experiences, which builds a supportive and empathetic environment.
- CONS
- High Emotional Demand: The rigorous nature of the skill-building exercises and the emotional processing required to discuss one’s past can be mentally taxing for some participants during the early stages of the program.