(BOP) - The Bureau of Prisons (Bureau) offers opportunities for individuals in federal custody to acquire literacy and marketable skills so they can obtain gainful employment after release. Last fall, Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Greenville and FCI Pekin, along with the United States Probation Office, Eastern District of Missouri, collaborated to provide 14 females in federal custody the ability to participate in a community job fair in St. Louis, Missouri. Recognizing the unique needs and challenges faced by the female population, the community job fair was an opportunity for the participants to highlight the training and skills they acquired in prison and to potentially obtain post-incarceration employment.
All Bureau institutions offer literacy classes, and in most cases, the adults in custody who do not have a high school diploma or a General Educational Development (GED) certificate must participate in the literacy program for a minimum of 240 hours or until they obtain the GED. Non-English-speaking individuals must take English as a Second Language. Some institutions offer the opportunity to acquire college certificates and associate degrees through Advanced Continuing Education or local Pell Grant programs.
Many adults in Bureau custody acquire valuable skills through programs like Federal Prison Industries (FPI), vocational training opportunities, apprenticeships, certification training and/or other First Step Act (FSA) Evidence-Based Recidivism Reduction (EBRR) Programs and Productive Activities (PA). These structured, curriculum-based programs are led by staff, contractors, or volunteers and may result in the award of FSA time credits. The Bureau's robust reentry programs are designed to ensure all sentenced persons have the skills necessary to succeed upon release.
UNICOR is the trade name for FPI, a vital correctional program that assists offenders in learning the skills necessary to successfully transition from prison to being a law-abiding, contributing members of society. On-the-job training, which individuals in custody receive through a variety of institution job assignments, also teaches marketable skills needed to obtain and keep a position in the workforce. Vocational Training provides specific entry level or advanced job skills and certification that is instructor led and includes hands-on skill building through live work projects. A variety of skilled-trades are offered to individuals in Bureau custody, including building trades, welding, heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), refrigeration, highway construction, and wind-turbine technology. Generally, these programs require individuals to have completed the high school equivalency, but concurrent enrollment is sometimes possible. Most vocational training programs follow a competency-based curriculum, which teaches specific job skills and leads to a recognized credential, certificate, or degree.
Apprenticeships prepare the adults in custody for employment in various trades through structured programs underneath a journeyman in that trade. The apprenticeships are approved at the state and national levels by the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training, U.S. Department of Labor. These programs also typically require individuals to have completed the high school equivalency, but concurrent enrollment is sometimes possible.
Certification programs lead to obtaining an industry recognized certification. Most programs follow a competency-based curriculum, which teaches specific job skills and leads to a recognized credential or certificate. Similar to Vocational Training and Apprenticeships, Certification programs generally require a high school equivalency, but concurrent enrollment is sometimes possible.
The skills acquired through FPI and FSA EBRR programs like vocational training, apprenticeships, and certification training are designed to enhance post-release employment opportunities through marketable, in-demand employment skills that will place the individual on the path to be successful.
A four-part video series titled, "First Step Act: Pathway to Success," specifically timed to be released during Women's History Month, features the journeys of these 14 women from "What Now?" as they found themselves behind bars to "What's Next?" as they prepared to return to the community as better citizens and neighbors. Each Monday in March, a video in recognition of the countless women who have fought tirelessly for equal opportunity in our Nation and the Bureau's own efforts to increase opportunities for formerly incarcerated women, will be released.